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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27325243">Legend of Aang: Air</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_was_here/pseuds/anna_was_here'>anna_was_here</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Implied Sexual Content</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:55:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>86,025</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27325243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_was_here/pseuds/anna_was_here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Gaang are in Republic City helping organise and found it, but while they are busy with politics and becoming the new leaders of tomorrow, Azula helps her father escape to be the figurehead of a Fire Nation revolution. Zuko, Sokka and Suki go back to the Fire Nation while Aang, Katara and Toph try to sort out the growing problems in Republic City.</p><p>Set after the series and the comic books. I recommend you look at those first, but if you can't be bothered (fair enough), Azula is out of the mental asylum, the Gaang are founding Republic City, the Kyoshi Warriors are becoming diplomats/bodyguards for the Fire Nation and the Firelord and Toph is vibing with her metal-bending school.</p><p>Swear words, because Toph is a bad influence (no other reason)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sainu/Azula (Original Character/Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Escape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A breath of smoke fell from her lips as she scanned the courtyard, the dark of the night pressing against her as small winds blew around her and the rooftops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulled her cloak closer to her, loving yet hating it all at once. Its bountiful folds both embraced and encumbered her, both caressed and curbed her every move, but she loved the darkness she could bring with it, the horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The stories were already set. Someone just had to use them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, the moon’s shadows cast across the entirety of the courtyard, and she slinked down to the cobblestones, dropping lightly, dropping </span>
  <em>
    <span>carefully</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It wouldn’t do to raise the alarm, not now, and hopefully, not tonight. Other nights, perhaps, but tonight was serious, tonight wasn’t a game.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, she crept, hating how… </span>
  <em>
    <span>intruding</span>
  </em>
  <span> she felt. This was her home, and they had made her crawl around it like she was a common peasant. That would change, she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She reached the other side of the yard, slipping through doors and halls. She didn’t see anyone; her sources told her that duties were laxer now that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Firelord Zuzu</span>
  </em>
  <span> was away, but it wouldn’t matter if she was overly careful anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Better to expect failure than to anticipate victory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She reached the final hallway. Two guards did occupy this passage, but one she was certain would assist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other, well, the other couldn’t be left just sitting around, could they?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised her hand, and summoned a flame. Small, merely a tinkle of her power, but enough to see. She turned the corner and walked slowly, firmly, as if she owned the palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had, for a while. It wasn’t hard to own it again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guard closer to her straightened, then spoke, “What business?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not much,” she said, then brought the fire closer to her face, illuminating her features. “I’m just here to see my father.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guard stumbled back, as if he had seen a ghost. A mistake. Ghosts didn’t create flames in the dark, and this one certainly did. The guard behind him slammed the back of his spear into the guard’s head, then gently lowered him to the ground as the girl removed a set of keys from his belt. The second guard bowed to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Princess-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Save the formalities,” she said, then motioned for him to hide the guard. “Clean this up. We don’t want any accidents tonight.” She moved past him, walking quickly now, down the rest of the hall and off to the side, towards a flight of stairs, down a few steps, through another corridor, and up to a cell. A man was just visible in between the bars, his appearance shaggy but regal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula,” the firelord said, raising his tired head. “You came to bring me home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled faintly, removing her hood. “One doesn’t return to their home if it is overrun by beggars and thieves, father.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you been spending time around your uncle?” Ozai grunted as he stood. His daughter pursed her lips as she carefully removed the set of keys from her cloak. They only tinkled together as she inserted them into the lock and turned, but she still cringed at the noise. Father wouldn’t have made them clink, she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened, and he stepped out, seeming a little taller, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Azula stepped back, but he stepped forward, wrapping her in an immense hug. She started; this hadn’t been what she was expecting, this didn’t… happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Azula,” he whispered, then let go. Azula was still standing there, taught and a bit shocked, but she nodded, and they turned towards the exit. They passed the guard on their way, the other must have been disposed of, Azula thought with a grim satisfaction. The guard fell in step behind them and the three of them made their way towards the many halls that twisted and turned their way upwards, until they were standing on the cobblestones, the moonlight casting lights and shadows across the courtyard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guard went ahead, and soon Ozai and Azula heard the gate open above. The guard had already left the station when they walked through; no doubt he was returning to his roster, or disposing of more guards he had encountered. It didn’t matter: he wouldn’t be blamed for Ozai’s escape, he wasn’t even meant to be on for tonight, it was by chance the guard he replaced had met a mysterious but enchanting stranger, and drunk a little much a few hours before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, that mysterious but enchanting stranger was leaving the Fire Nation capital, her father walking a free man behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And they would remain free.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Day in Republic City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cabbage man seemed nervous. But, then again, why wouldn’t he be, Sokka thought, slightly amused. Yes, he was sorry that the Avatar’s adventures had interrupted business to a slight - sorry, apparently major, degree, but this…<br/>“I’m sorry, Mr Gai-Lan, but I’m not sure I follow…” Katara said slowly. “To power this machine, you don’t use bending… at all? It just seems a bit -”<br/>“Awesome!” Sokka said, his eyes light with the idea. He pushed passed his bewildered sister and ran his hands over the engine. “The friction of this turning mechanism creates heat, which can be converted into steam which can power the whole automobile! That’s genius!”<br/>Mr Gai-Lan waved his hand, flustered but proud. “Well Sokka, I am pleased you understand the complexity of the machine! It was, after all, designed with the same idea in mind as the zeppelins you helped invent, but with a mechanical engine so it can be used by benders and non-benders alike!”<br/>Katara pursed her lips. “I… guess I can see the importance of it for the non-bending community. It just seems…” Sokka turned to her, eyebrows raised. She shrugged. “I don’t know… unnatural?”<br/>“Ah, but Katara, you see, it isn’t unnatural at all!” Mr Gai-Lan rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. “The way non-benders can contribute to this growing society is through processes that seem different to bending, but it’s all the same! Where firebenders can heat and meld metal - oh, and now earthbenders as well,” he gestured to Toph, who was leaning on a wall at the back of the room, arms folded, a small smile on her lips. She hadn’t spoken yet, but Sokka got the impression she seemed keen about this idea. He made towards her while Katara continued. “Where metal can be processed through bending styles, non-benders use heat and pressure as well, we just do it without harnessing the qi inside! It takes longer, sure, and it’s a lot more tiring, but it works just as well!” He paused, Katara’s expression still scrunched up in confusion. Sokka reached Toph and rolled his eyes as Mr Gai-Lan gestured for her to speak.<br/>“Mr Gai-Lan,” she said slowly. “I realise that non-benders are seeking more independence from the bending part of society, but would it be more productive to have non-benders invent and utilise these creations, while the benders actually create them?”<br/>“That is wise, Katara, but what happens when a town has no benders, or what if they have benders, but not the types they need. There is only one airbender -”<br/>“Katara and Aang need to work on that front,” Sokka whispered quietly to Toph. Toph chuckled.<br/>“ - but in places where cars may be essential for travel, say… in the Southern Water Tribe? There aren’t any residential firebenders or metalbenders around, but there are many places where factories can be erected and non-benders in the water tribes can work to create the machines required. And yes,” he added quickly as Katara began to say something. “Benders can go over and assist, but once these are properly advertised, demand will increase greatly! Benders will have to make at least long-term if not permanent residence in the areas they are working in, and that affects migration, economy, trade… all sorts of things! Better if the demand is met more slowly with less degradation to each nation’s power.”<br/>“I’m going to pretend I understood all of that perfectly well,” Toph quietly smiled. Katara nodded slowly, and thanked Mr Gai-Lan for his time.<br/>“Any time,” the merchant said. “Oh, and Sokka! Anytime you want to come and suggest new inventions or ideas, I’m always open to them!”<br/>“Thanks! I may take you up on that soon.” Sokka awkwardly thumbs-upped the merchant; he didn’t know what other hand gesture could explain his gratitude, but Mr Gai-Lan nodded, and the three of them exited the warehouse.<br/>They walked in silence down the boulevarde, and towards the dockyards. Though the city hadn’t even been officially founded yet; that was to happen in a few month’s time, the docks were a shambling hurrying mess, covered in wooden boxes with imports from the other Earth Kingdom states and the Fire Nation, as well as a few Water Tribe vessels to help integrate some of their traditions into the daily routine of the citizens. The sun was high in the sky as the three entered one of the larger squares in town, which Sokka believed was being renamed Bato Square. He knew quite a number of the squares and streets were being renamed in honor of the Southern Wolf Warriors, however he couldn’t remember their order.<br/>Katara sighed. “Well, now that’s over. The automobile is a cool idea, but…”<br/>“What? Not pretty enough?” Sokka asked, but he knew the real reason. Their non-bending friends at the South Pole had been exploited whilst they were a part of a manufacturing firm, but if the conditions were better for workers, and they enjoyed it, Sokka didn’t see a problem.<br/>Katara ignored the jibe. “Toph, we have to go meet Aang and Zuko soon.”<br/>“What time?” Toph kicked the ground, causing a few shards of earth to scatter across the square, startling a few birds. She grinned as Katara checked the sun.<br/>“Um…” she faded off, holding up her hands. She had never really grasped the technique of sun-time - and it hopefully wouldn’t matter in a couple of weeks, Sokka thought, his mind turning to a project he had been working on in secret with the Inventor: a small device that could fit on your wrist and would just tell you the time, through the amount of sunlight and moonlight visible at that time. But they were still in the early phases, and the small problem of fire-bending was interfering with results, but maybe soon…<br/>He looked up. “It’s around one and a half hours past midday.” Katara gasped.<br/>“Toph, we’re late!” She grabbed the smaller girl’s arm and began to drag her down the street.<br/>“Would be faster if you had an automobile!” Sokka called after them. By that time, Toph had righted herself and had summoned a moving mound of earth to transport them faster towards the city centre. Katara made a hand gesture that was too far away to see, but Sokka didn’t need to to get the message. He chuckled, then began walking again, this time away the docks. Suki was to meet him there three hours past, so he had a bit of time. The docks weren’t a pleasant place, but they were far enough away from the commerce area that he could pretend he had been somewhere else.<br/>After all, he’d be a terrible boyfriend if he didn’t spend some time and money for her on her birthday.<br/>Sokka walked through Downtown as the city bustled around him. It had only been three years, but already the crumbling town of Cranefish had been completely transformed into this city. It wasn’t as big as Ba Sing Se, where each section could have been their own city, but it seemed massive to Sokka. And although a few people waved hello to him as he strolled along, so many refugees and displaced people from the War had settled here, and so many faces trundled along with him.<br/>He reached a crossroads, where a few ostrich-horses stood, attended by their owners. And from him, just across the road…<br/>The Little Ba Sing Se Fashion Mall. Shopping.<br/>Outside the mall stood a small figure, clad in pink. Well, stood was the wrong word, at least, on her feet. Ty Lee was doing a one-handed handstand when Sokka reached her, and she smiled widely.<br/>“Sokka!” she exclaimed, and sprung out of the handstand. Her long braid flung up behind her as she landed, and she immediately leapt into a bear-hug. Sokka staggered back slightly and the two almost fell onto the road.<br/>“Hey, Ty Lee,” Sokka laughed as they righted themselves and stepped into the mall. The first ring of shops stood before them, ready for commerce. They made their way towards a small jewelry shop, little silver and gold earrings and pendants on the window sill. “Thanks for this.”<br/>“Anytime. I know you two haven’t really seen each other in a while.” Ty Lee fingered one of the pendants, a small yin and yang symbol set into gold. It was pretty, but Sokka wasn’t getting… the vibe. “Suki’s been busy with organising the Guard, and you’ve been… what have you been doing?”<br/>Good question. Sokka’s mind, crammed full of ideas, concepts, dates and events, completely and utterly blanked.<br/>This happened a lot. He tried to remember what he had been doing, at least this morning…<br/>“Um… oh! Me and Katara and Toph went to Mr Gai-Lan’s factory this morning. He’s designed this automobile that a non-bender can use - heeeey, that one’s nice!” Sokka reached over Ty Lee to pick up a set of stud earrings. Two fans set in gold, with green edges. He held them up for the acrobat’s inspection. “They’re like your fighting fans!”<br/>“Mmm, nice,” Ty Lee said. “Are you set on them? You think she’ll like them?”<br/>Sokka paused. Yes, they were nice, and good quality, but… most of the time he had spent with Suki had been during the War. There hadn’t been time to talk of jewelry and the latest fashions while people around them were dying. And afterwards, they had been travelling around, helping villages regrow, and he and Suki had gone separate ways after the initial founding of Republic City.<br/>Ty Lee saw through his hesitation, and took them from him, setting them back down on the table. “Come on. Let’s go through the other shops first. We can always come back to get these, and we can get her some other stuff as well.”<br/>“What are you getting her?” Sokka asked as they walked away, this time heading towards a craftsman’s shop, full of ink and paper and paint.<br/>“Well, the Kyoshi Warriors are collectively getting her a present,” Ty Lee said. “We all went to a blacksmith the other day, and asked for a personalised sword and shield set.”<br/>“That’s so cool!” Sokka exclaimed. “Does the sword have an engraving? What colours are the shield? Do they work with the Kyoshi uniform? How does the shield -”<br/>“Woah, calm down there,” Ty Lee chuckled. They reached the shop, the bell tinkling as they stepped inside. The owner looked up from his desk as they walked in, and began to hurry towards them. Ty Lee continued, “I can only answer one question at a time.”<br/>“Sorry - “<br/>“Welcome!” The shop-keeper waved enthusiastically towards one of the items on the shelf. “Ink perhaps? Some paper? Maybe you would be more inclined to a more artistic set?” He waved at each shelf and item as he rattled them off. The shelves were full of brushes, paper and inking sets. Small pots of paints of all different colours lined the walls, and, leaning on another wall, massive wooden boards and small canvases stood. In another section of the shop, sets of carving tools were displayed, their blades gleaming.<br/>Ty Lee turned to Sokka. “Suki likes painting, right?”<br/>Sokka hesitated. “She likes it when I’m painting, and she’ll always want to add some brush strokes, but I’m not sure -”<br/>“Sokka, if you keep saying that you’re not sure, you’ll never learn. Yes, you might show up with a full paint set, and she may never touch it, but that’s ok. You learn. You both do. And one day, you may give each other the perfect present, but realise that your relationship doesn’t need gifts. It isn’t dependent on them. That the perfect gift you have is your relationship.”<br/>Sokka blinked. “Ty Lee… how the hell are you so smart?”<br/>She grinned. “I am wise beyond my years, Sokka. Even the trees bow to my wisdom -”<br/>“When was the last time you saw Uncle Iroh?”<br/>“Uncle? Oh, two days ago.”</p><p>Even with Ty Lee’s flawless wisdom, Sokka’s stomach still turned into fully grown Sooty Copper Fritillaries as he saw her. She looked amazing (as always), but today, she looked somehow better. Her eyes glowed a little more brightly when she saw him approach, trying and failing spectacularly to hide a massive bouquet of flowers behind his back. The present was a little easier to hide; one of the many upsides of pockets.<br/>“Hey,” she said, walking towards him. As she drew near, Sokka swept the flowers from behind his back in what he hoped was a dramatic enough sweep, and made to give them to her. She gasped. “Sokka… these are beautiful!”<br/>He grinned, his shoulder-blade muscles relaxing a bit. Wow, he didn’t even know he had those muscles, let alone knew that they were tensed. Sokka went to give her the flowers again, smiling a little more when she took them reverently. Suki leapt into his arms and drew him in for a kiss.<br/>Sokka smirked into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around him. She broke off the kiss in surprise, but he pressed forward for more and she responded eagerly, laughing a bit. Finally he set her down, both gasping for breath - <br/>“Get a room!” someone shouted. They looked over to find Haru, rolling his eyes, standing on an Earth Kingdom ship. Sokka laughed, and took Suki’s hand.<br/>“Guess we need to move,” Suki said, smiling. Sokka looked over the docks, and found that Haru wasn’t the only one staring. A couple of Water Tribe ships were docked as well, and although they appeared to be doing their jobs, Sokka swore he saw Bato wink and his father pass a couple of coins over.<br/>He smiled at Suki, and the two walked away from the docks, weaving through the streets and industry, talking about their mornings, Sokka chuckling as Suki ranted about Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation officials being assholes, until they arrived at an expanse of green rolling hills, littered with lakes.<br/>Republic City Park.<br/>They picked a bench that overlooked the main lake. The sun, now marking the time as 4 past (maybe the kiss had been longer than he thought), was beginning to set, casting pinks and oranges through the ripples and disturbances of the water, the sun making long shadows and glowing orange highlights that warmed everything they touched.<br/>Suki leaned against Sokka, her grey eyes sparkling in the light. Sokka smiled down at her, and reached into his pocket.<br/>He pulled out a fairly thick and long package, wrapped in brown paper. He gently took the flowers from her lap, and replaced them with the package. Her forehead creased slightly in curiosity, and she slowly unwrapped the package. She would have been faster if she sat up, but Sokka didn’t question it, only waited.<br/>The final piece of brown paper fell away, revealing two presents: the fan earrings Sokka had gone back for, and a larger case full of brushes and small ink squares and small parchment pages. She raised them up to eye level, and a few of the fritillaries returned to Sokka’s stomach. But she smiled, looked up at Sokka and raised herself up for another kiss, a smaller one this time.<br/>“Happy 19th, Suki.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Report</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko stood in front of the table, a large map of the city spread out before him. Well, map was the wrong word. It was more of a model, with Toph’s unerring ability to see every nook and cranny through her senses, she had recreated the metal table to perfectly match the city. Every building, park and street was shown, so the table took up most of the room.<br/>An Earth King official was standing near, with an unsatisfied expression plastered on their face. Zuko raised an eyebrow at them. “Is something wrong?”<br/>They sighed. “Well, I just don’t see much of an Earth Kingdom influence in the city. The Air Nomads, well,” they stopped, looking over to where Aang was standing by the window. “Air Nomad,” Zuko wanted to murder him there, but he decided against beginning another war. “They have a full island, and the Water Tribes have a lot of influence in the port and recreation areas, and the Fire Nation has lots of cultural influence in the commerce sections, not to mention the overall ruling of Republic City. The Earth Kingdom doesn’t have anything, and this is technically our land -”<br/>“And while I can see your concern, Minister Toro,” Zuko said slowly through gritted teeth. “It is technically not your land, but a completely neutral base for where all four nations can be equally represented. And the Earth Kingdom has quite a bit of influence in the recreation and commerce sectors of the city, alongside the many bending facilities that are solely for earthbenders, such as the new metal-bending facility just outside of the walls. And the Earth Kingdom controls the justice and policing of Republic City. I assure you, Minister Toro, that you have been well represented.”<br/>Minister Toro subsided bitterly. Zuko refrained from rolling his eyes and moved around the massive table to stand next to Aang, whose eyes were still glued to what lay outside the window.<br/>“Can you see them?”<br/>Aang shook his head. “They should have been here twenty minutes ago -”<br/>“Aang,” Zuko laid a hand on his shoulder. “Relax. They probably just went overtime with the meeting with Mr Gai-Lan. They’ll be here soon.” Aang nodded, but kept searching in the milling crowds outside the building. Zuko sighed and turned away.<br/>“Wait - I can see them! They’re here,” Aang grinned, pointing. A few startled shouts came from the outside world and, as Zuko ran to the window and peered out, he made out Toph and Katara atop a massive hill of moving earth and stones.<br/>“Travels in style, doesn’t she?” Zuko muttered.<br/>“The only way.”<br/>A few minutes later, the door burst open, and the two ran in. “Sorry,” Katara panted. “We lost track of time.” The two slid into their appropriate seats as the officials in the room bristled.<br/>Aang and Zuko were the only ones Katara and Toph knew, so after a few hasty introductions were made, the Earth Kingdom officials and Fire Nation ministers began to debate the opening ceremony for the city. <br/>Katara, along with her father, were the main representatives for the Southern Water Tribe, but neither of them liked these meetings and debates where nothing was really achieved, only settled, so they alternated while the other went out into the city to accomplish things. She didn’t say much at first, only interjecting to calm down some of the officials, but as the meeting progressed, she matched their raging fires and stubborn stones with cold icy anger that lashed out at any who dared disagree with her.<br/>She was a good politician, Zuko thought, but she’d never admit it.<br/>Toph was there to simply bend the metal on the city to show how the ceremony would go, but while the officials bickered, she had plonked her feet up off the ground to just listen. She had confided with Team Avatar that when they had all been down at the South Pole a few months earlier, she had struggled with telling the truth from lies while on the ice, and she wanted to get a feel for telling lies through how people sounded when they spoke, instead of feeling their pulse.<br/>Toph was getting quite good at it. When the meetings had first started, she had created a subtle tremor code with the Team, where if she detected a lie, she could alert anyone she needed to. The annoying thing about it was that she was alerting them every few minutes.<br/>Politics was exhausting.<br/>The minutes slowly drifted into hours as the opening ceremony was finalised, and conversation moved onto the reconstruction of the ports, as although they were functioning, a couple of ministers felt they could be improved, and after several minutes more agreed. Zuko sighed. Another expense for the Fire Nation.<br/>Of course he had agreed that they would pay for their actions over the 100 years of war, but some days it seemed that the Earth Kingdom provinces, especially the ones closer to the western shore, were abusing this agreement. Their treasuries would hold over the years, but if the Earth Kingdom kept insisting on non-essential renovations and assistance…<br/>Stop it, he scolded himself. An agreement was an agreement. Nonetheless…<br/>Zuko’s thoughts were interrupted by a small pitter-patter of feet that seemed to be getting closer. He glanced over at Toph to see if he was imagining it, but she had swung her feet down and seemed to hear, or sense, it too. It grew louder and louder and he heard the two guards, there for ceremony and nothing more, move to meet whomever was coming. A low murmur of voices grew louder as both parties argued. The ministers stopped their own conversations to listen, and Zuko stood up.<br/>“Carry on, ministers,” he gestured for a couple of the ministers, Katara and Toph included, to sit themselves back down. They had also risen along with him, but at his insistence, they sat and continued the conversation. Zuko quietly opened the door and closed it, hurrying over to the trio. They halted their argument as he approached.<br/>“Is something wrong?” he asked them. The guards parted to reveal a Fire Nation messenger, clutching a small scroll with a hawk seated comfortably on his shoulder. The messenger bowed and Zuko returned the greeting. “At ease, First Lieutenant,” Zuko recognised the stripes on the shoulder of his uniform.<br/>They straightened, and the lieutenant wordlessly handed him the scroll. Zuko opened it hesitantly; the messenger seemed nervous, very nervous. Finally, the scroll unravelled, and he brought it up to eye level, and scanned the contents.<br/>Fuck.<br/>Zuko looked at the messenger. “When was this sent?”<br/>“We just received it, Firelord. I ran up as soon as we read -”<br/>“Read it? Who read it?” Zuko demanded. The messenger cringed slightly.<br/>“Just myself and the head of the messaging service, sir. We are required to read your messages as a matter of national security.” The messenger now looked terrified, and Zuko immediately regretted raising his voice. He calmed himself.<br/>“Right, of course. Forgive me, I just don’t want to raise any panic.” Too late, he was panicking. His father was loose? And Azula with him? This would send the nation into turmoil.<br/>The messenger looked a little less frightened, but more embarrassed now that the Firelord had apologised to him. Zuko shook his head. “Thank you, lieutenant. You’re dismissed.” He bowed, and the lieutenant returned the gesture, before beginning to hurry away. Zuko remembered something. “Lieutenant!” The messenger turned. “Don’t tell anyone of this. Tell the head of the service to keep this as quiet as possible.” The lieutenant nodded and disappeared. Zuko turned to the guards, two Earth Kingdom men.<br/>“Please return to the meeting, corporals. Inform them that I will not be returning, and to conclude the meeting without me.” The guards saluted and turned back to the room, and Zuko headed down the hallway, the scroll clutched in his hand. He had to tell the Team, but Aang, Katara and Toph were in the meeting, and he didn’t need the Earth Kingdom ministers knowing yet. And while he was loath to interrupt Suki’s birthday, Sokka and Suki would be somewhere private…<br/>But he needed to change. These official robes would be instantly recognisable, and if his father and sister were out, then he needed to be careful. Even if he was across swathes of oceans from them.</p><p>He felt a bit intruding, wearing his cloak, and concealing his swords underneath. The war was finished, and here he was, sneaking around the streets, prepared to fight, but at the same time, he felt more comfortable knowing he could protect himself.<br/>Yes, he was one of the most accomplished firebenders in the world. And yet, he loved the feel of the leather grips on his swords, loved the way they could slice through the air, both stubbornly solid and sleek at the same time. No fire he summoned brought him this amount of comfort.<br/>Zuko made his way down to the ports. He had assumed that the pair would be at the city park, however he didn't want to interrupt them on their date. And besides, he knew exactly who to talk to.</p><p>Hakoda was seated at a small booth in The Jasmine Dragon. Not the original, of course, that was in Ba Sing Se, but Uncle had been meaning to expand for a while, and ever since Republic City had been initiated by the Gaang almost three years ago (wow), Iroh had set eyes on opening a shop here.<br/>Zuko knew how Iroh loved the shop in the Earth Kingdom capital, but he wished his uncle visited this one more often. He could use his help right about now.<br/>Zuko approached slowly. He didn’t want to interrupt if Hakoda was seeing someone, but he was alone, silently sipping his tea. Hakoda looked up as Zuko drew nearer.<br/>“Afternoon,” he said with a smile, noting Zuko’s pulled hood and concerned expression. Thankfully, he seemed to guess that Zuko was trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Zuko nodded to the chair opposite him.<br/>“Do you mind if I join you?”<br/>“No, not at all,” Hakoda gestured for him to sit. “Is something on your mind?”<br/>Zuko hesitated. “Yeah. Something bad, really bad, has happened. I was going to find Sokka and Suki, but I don’t want to bother them, and…” he stopped at Hakoda’s raised eyebrow, and realised he should get to the point. “Azula has freed my father. They’ve both escaped from the capital and they’re going to raise absolute hell.”<br/>Hakoda blinked. “Oh… that’s bad.”<br/>“Thanks for the support.”<br/>“Zuko… does Aang know? Iroh?” Zuko shook his head.<br/>“Aang was in a meeting with ministers from other nations, and I… didn’t want to get them panicked as well.” Zuko looked away, knowing his reason wasn’t the best. Hakoda raised his eyebrow again.<br/>“The Earth Kingdom officials?”<br/>“I hate them, they’re so…” Zuko’s hands fidgeted as he tried to find the right word. “Petty, and annoying, and self-centred, and they’d be insufferable if they found out -”<br/>“Maybe you should tell them.”<br/>Zuko blinked. “What? That was what I was trying to avoid -”<br/>“But,” Hakoda held up a hand. “If you tell them now, you won’t have to deal with them finding out later, and creating more distrust. If they have to find out the two biggest war criminals, two criminals who the Earth Kingdom specifically wanted to punish themselves, have escaped? Won’t look so good.” Zuko sighed, leaning back in the booth seat.<br/>“How are you so good at politics? Teach me your ways.”<br/>Hakoda chuckled. “It’s diplomacy. The art of being polite to insufferable assholes.” Zuko laughed.<br/>Hakoda picked up his tea and took a long sip. “What was the meeting on?”<br/>“This opening ceremony, which I suppose I won’t be able to do until I recapture my father and sister.” Zuko sighed. “They’ll still be at it, knowing them. Should I tell them?”<br/>Hakoda met his eyes over the cup of tea in his hand and nodded. “I think that would be best.”<br/>Zuko smiled. “Thanks Hakoda,” he said. Hakoda raised his cup to him.<br/>“Anytime.”</p><p>“So ministers, I believe that is the last piece of business for today,” Minister Toro said smugly as Zuko walked in, still wrapped in his cloak. Katara rolled her eyes as Toph waved at Zuko. Zuko cleared his throat awkwardly.<br/>“Sorry, Minister Toro. Ministers,” he nodded to the others assembled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll. “There is one more thing I’d like to discuss, if that’s alright.” Toro looked a bit shocked, and disgruntled, at the suggestion, but the other ministers settled back into their seats as Zuko cleared his throat again.<br/>“Um… so the commotion earlier was a messenger… bringing a message,” Zuko inwardly winced. Obviously a messenger would be bringing a message. He continued, “from the Fire Nation capital. Um… So basically there’s been an escape.” He paused, looking up. Quite a few of the officials were looking more confused than concerned, which wasn’t helping. He sighed, and spat it out, “Ozai and Azula. They’ve escaped, well, Azula escaped years ago, but she’s helped dad - Ozai - escape.”<br/>The mood shifted, faces changing from creased and confused expressions to looks ranging from horror to mild concern, the former belonging to Aang, Katara and Toph, the latter belonging to Minister Toro, which Zuko immediately distrusted. For all his talk of the Fire Nation cheating the Earth Kingdom, Toro didn’t ask how or when or even accuse Zuko of assisting them; he just leant back in his chair as,<br/>“When was this?” <br/>“How did this happen?” <br/>“You said that the previous Firelord was secure, and that he wouldn’t need to be detained by the Earth Kingdom?” <br/>“Was that just a front, Lord Zuko? Were you just protecting your father from paying the price he should?” <br/>“Why would you protect your father… unless you agreed with him?” Minister Toro said quietly. Damn that man.<br/>“Ministers -” Zuko began, but the seed had been sown. A couple of the ministers began to rise, saying that they needed to warn their provinces. Officials began to move and push past Zuko, until the last one had left the room, until Aang, Katara and Toph were the only ones left. Zuko sighed, and moved to the table. They looked shocked, no, horrified, of the news, but Katara…<br/>She looked murderous. And Zuko was not surprised.<br/>“How dare they,” she said as Zuko sank slowly into a chair. He slowly raised his eyes to hers, icy depths that chilled everyone they met, and shook his head.<br/>“Katara -”<br/>“How dare they accuse you like that?” Katara’s voice rose with every word. She slammed the table, startling poor Toph a little, who had just swung her legs up again. The waterbender rose and began to walk around the massive table, furiously gesturing as she spoke. “I mean, it’s kind of obvious you didn’t release your father, or have any part in it? You were here! Doing the administration and the ceremony and everything -”<br/>“Katara,” Aang started.<br/>“And they’re just so…” Katara’s hands were frantic now; she let out a frustrated groan. “They’re so rude and selfish and - and - they’re so quick to judge and blame and of course, you didn’t have anything to do with it, so why are they -”<br/>“They’re politicians, Katara, it’s what they do,” Zuko said tiredly. Katara glared at him.<br/>“Even so!” she yelled. “Why -”<br/>“Katara!” Zuko and Aang both yelled. She stopped, staring at both of them, a bit surprised. Zuko sighed as Aang began to reason,<br/>“Katara, they’re politicians, politicians who recently won a war against a nation that tore at them for a century. They want revenge, but they can’t get it so outright, so they pick and toy with the things that they can. But this? This escape?” Aang gestured at the letter Zuko held. “It’s just the last straw. They’re tired of what they view as injustices. Most of them,” he added as Katara began to speak again, “still believe that the founding of this nation neutral city is an injustice against the Earth Kingdom. They just want to deal with it their own way, and right now the way they want to deal with it is by blaming the Fire Nation.”<br/>Katara held his gaze, then sighed and dropped it. “I know. You’re right, I just… i don't like it. I’m sorry.”<br/>“Don’t apologise, Katara,” Zuko said with a grin. He propped his own feet up on the table next to Toph’s. “I don’t like it either.”<br/>“So what now?” Toph asked. Zuko looked at Aang.<br/>“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess I’ll have to return to the Fire Nation and sort things out. Now that my father’s escaped, there’ll be a lot of support both for and against him, and I’ll have to calm things down.”<br/>Aang nodded. “I’ll come with you.”<br/>“No,” Zuko said. Aang and Katara began to protest, but he held up a hand. “Aang, I know you want to come and help, but you’re the Avatar. You’ve done so much for my family, for my nation. You need to maintain some impartialness, and the city needs to be founded.”<br/>“But if Ozai remains out of prison for too long, the Fire Nation could collapse into a civil war. You said it yourself, there’s still a lot of support for him,” Aang argued.<br/>“I know, but again… politics,” Zuko spat out. Katara nodded.<br/>“I think it would be better if you did stay here, Aang. Just for diplomatic reasons. And if it gets really bad, you can come over and help. If it gets to that point… there won’t be a reasonable way for the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe officials to get mad, and they’ll just have to agree with it.”<br/>“Agreed. We’ll send for you three if it gets too bad,” Zuko began to rise from the table.<br/>“Wait, what?” Here we go, Zuko thought. Katara looked at him accusingly. “Three? No no no no no, Toph and I can come and help -”<br/>“No, Katara, you can’t. You need to stay here and be the diplomat for the Southern Water Tribe, along with Hakoda. And Toph needs to stay here at the metal-bending school -”<br/>“I don’t have to,” Toph spoke up. Zuko faced her.<br/>“Toph, there’s a small… project that Minister Li and I have been working on,” Zuko said slowly. Minister Li was probably his favourite of the Earth Kingdom officials, but the idea was still an idea and he wanted Toph’s opinion. “We’d like you to help out. If you agree, then you’ll be busy with that, because it’s a big undertaking. And besides, you’ve been helping out your father with organising the city and representing your province. I think, again, it would be better if you stayed here.<br/>“Sokka and Suki, while they are very politically active and are representing their homes, there are other representatives that can easily fill in their gaps. When it comes down to it, they are the ones I feel the most confident in taking from their duties here and not getting any backlash for it.”<br/>Zuko looked at the three. They were the youngest of Team Avatar, but Zuko wasn’t worried about their military and political experience - they had a lot of that, unfortunately - but he did sometimes worry that they were too impulsive, too straight-forward and abrupt, and not as fluid and, dare he say it, deceptive as the other politicians.<br/>Their truth made them more popular with the public than the other politicians. Unfortunately, Zuko worried that the other politicians would become too manipulative and too full of lies for them.<br/>But he had to trust them. He couldn’t mother-hen them, for goodness sake. They were almost adults.<br/>And he could definitely trust them with Republic City, and trust them to take care of it while he, Sokka and Suki went back to the Fire Nation.<br/>It wouldn’t be for long.<br/>So why was he still nervous?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pollution</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Azula looked down the cliffside. The village obviously relied on the many fish that swam about in its waters, as the entire town was built on a series of planks and stilts jutting out from the water.<br/>Not many fish would swim here though, she thought. The waters were filthy, polluted by the waste emitted from a factory upstream. The factory had been installed after the war; based off a factory destroyed by a mysterious waterbender, whom Azula had realised wasn’t so mysterious after all. Now, this new factory was releasing a ton more waste, but because the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom were profiting off it, well, a lowly village wouldn’t be given much thought, would it?<br/>But Azula would help them, as would her father, who was surveying the terrain around the factory, along with General Mung, the previous owner of the factory. He had been greatly disadvantaged when that Southern peasant had destroyed it. Azula and her father would save the town, and rid them of this pollution; that they had to live like this, that they had to subject themselves to this kind of ruling.<br/>They would be the first village to join their cause, and to bring about a better world.</p><p>Her father and General Mung returned an hour later, Ozai holding a map he had sourced in one hand, and the brush in the other, Mung lugging a bundle of wood over his shoulders. Ozai lay the map out on the ground next to their camp as Azula built and lit the fire. The flames tickled over her skin as they wood exploded in sparks and light, before settling into a steady blaze.<br/>Azula thought she saw something flash over her father’s face. Desire? No… envy. She turned away hurriedly as Mung returned to her father’s side.<br/>“Now see here, Firelord,” the general began. “Here are the public entrances to the factory; the ones the benders and non-benders use. And here…” he drew his finger to a section of the factory that appeared to be blocked by the mountain itself. “Is how we get in. It used to be an officer’s entrance, but now it remains unused, as the passageway isn’t known to many. Fortunately, I still have the key,” he pulled it out of his pocket now, in a dramatic wave Azula felt was a bit unnecessary, but she didn’t say anything. She knew she had probably done similar acts of flair when she wanted. Mung continued, “and we can topple the factory and block the sewage from polluting the waterways the same way the waterbender did a few years ago.”<br/>Her father nodded. “God work, General. Once we’ve destroyed this factory and liberated this town, we’ll move on to ones in the surrounding areas. We’ll be able to round up these… villagers, and gain the support of the local towns, gradually building up our forces until we can retake the Fire Nation.”<br/>“And once we have the Nation under control again, we can launch another attack on the Earth Kingdom, and you will be the Phoenix King once again, Firelord,” Mung said. Her father’s furrow creased slightly, but when Azula blinked, the moment was gone.<br/>Strange. Her father wasn’t usually this… hesitant. He was more of a ‘attack first, ask questions later’ type of man. But her father smiled at Mung’s proposal.<br/>“Yes,” he said.<br/>“Father…” Ozai and Mung turned to her. “People at this village… don’t some of them work at the factory?”<br/>“Yes, Princess,” Mung replied. Azula waved a hand at the factory.<br/>“Well… if we’re trying to liberate this village, why are we destroying their source of income? Their… only source of income, now that the river is polluted.”<br/>“You’re right, Azula,” her father said, and Azula relaxed slightly. Damn, she didn’t even know she had tensed up, but now her father was agreeing with her, she realised she did feel more calm. Ozai continued, “This is their source of income, but they generate more income, and sustain better lifestyles and create a more healthy community when they live off the river. The waterbender did start us off, by giving us the idea of destroying the factories to favour themselves in the public eye, but they then used the factory’s ruins to their advantage, and the river is destroyed again. If we obliterate the whole facility, they won’t be able to rebuild, and the village will be better off.” Her father cocked his head. “Does that… make sense?”<br/>Azula hurriedly nodded. “Yes yes, of course. Sorry, keep going.”<br/>Ozai hesitated again; why did he keep hesitating? He knew what he was doing, he knew they had another chance… Why the pauses? Why the uncertainty? But then, just like before, the moment was gone, and Ozai returned his gaze to the map. Mung looked up at the sun.<br/>“The workers should be on their lunch break right about now. If we leave now, we may be able to catch them all as they reenter the main complex to clock in for their shifts. We could destroy the factory and achieve maximum casualties at the same -”<br/>“No,” Ozai said. “There are Fire Nation civilians working there. We will not risk their lives over this.”<br/>“With due respect, Firelord,” Mung started. “The civilians in there are, currently, betraying their true Lord. Wouldn’t it be more… wise, to end these betrayals now, rather than have to deal with them later?”<br/>Azula agreed, but again, Ozai frowned. What was this? He always dealt with traitors, whether the treason be forced or not, and he dealt with them swiftly and fiercely. Had the years in prison clouded his judgment?<br/>“No. We will wait. Flesh out the plan. In two days time, the Fire Nation workers will be excused from their duties for the festival. The Earth Kingdom and factory officials will not, and that is when we will strike. We will get no support,” he added as both Azula and Mung opened their mouths to argue, “if we kill Fire Nation civilians. We must preserve the lives of our people, for that is the purpose of our mission.”<br/>General Mung subsided at Ozai’s reasoning, and Azula, once again, had to agree with her father, but something he said troubled her. Their mission was to reinstate her father as the Phoenix King, and her as the Firelord, so they could present the world with a new leadership that would bring an end to the world’s suffering. That didn’t necessarily include saving lives in the process, only after, and saving lives wasn’t meant to be their overall mission… was it?<br/>It didn’t matter. Her father would see in the end. He would see that sacrifices had to be made, even if his attitudes towards them had been changed by his prison time.<br/>And they would both recover from the punishments inflicted by her brother and his allies.</p><p>It was a sad sight to see, Azula pondered as the second day came. Fire Nation festivals traditionally required hours of preparation, countless decorations and a bit of bloody happiness. But the village remained… untouched. The stilted buildings remained drab, the wood peeling and the water murky and staining. The people wilted around the town, a few children flying kites and running around in blissful ignorance of the town’s standing. The adults and elders congregated in small groups, but no sounds of celebration came floating up the cliffside, only the silence of their depravity.<br/>“This isn’t right,” Azula muttered.<br/>“No, it isn’t.” Azula started, not realising her father had come up beside her. He must have learnt to move quietly in those years; he used to love announcing his presence everywhere. Ozai grimaced at the village. “We will change this, Azula. For all the villages. Unite the Nation again and free it from the influence of the Earth Kingdom.”<br/>“And then… we’ll reinstate you as the Phoenix King… won’t we?” Azula asked softly.<br/>Silence.<br/>Then, “It’s time.” Ozai moved over to where General Mung was standing. Azula frowned; he hadn’t answered the question. He seemed to be avoiding it. But she moved over to them and they began their descent towards the factory.</p><p>The factory imposed on them, its metal structure casting glaring reflections of sunlight that draped the land around them into uneven shadows. The three picked their way around the rocky cliffs and shores until they reached the officer’s entrance; merely a dented opening in the metal now. Azula eyed it warily, and Mung noticed her apprehension.<br/>“Do not worry, Princess. We will have plenty of time to leave the building before it collapses.” Azula shook her head.<br/>“Of course,” she smiled, and ducked through the archway.<br/>They were surrounded by pipes. Great massive ones swarmed around the ceiling, climbing between the floors and balconies that Fire Nation architecture seemed to admire; smaller pipes swooped between these beasts, entangling themselves in an array of glaring metal, and Azula had trouble distinguishing one from the other. Still other pipes ran below them on the bottom floor, the biggest of them all. According to Mung’s blueprints, these ones spilled the factory’s waste into the river. They looked new and modern compared to the other pipes that ran along the ceilings, and Mung explained that they had been the ones destroyed by that southern peasant a few years ago.<br/>The three moved along the walkway, ducking into rooms when patrols of officers passed, but they soon realised such precautions were unnecessary with the normal workers, as their Fire Nation regalia was enough to convince the workers that they were meant to be there.<br/>Again, Azula thought, confidence was key in operations like this.<br/>Every room they entered, there seemed to be something for Azula’s fire to lick up: the communications room was left quietly smoking, a gentle static filling the air; they stumbled across some blasting jelly in the storage rooms and spread it across one of the lower floors, leaving it unlit for the time being; Ozai was able to find one of the main factory working areas, and while the employers were at lunch, Mung and Azula lit flame after flame under the conveyor belts until the turning mechanics melted away; each pipe they found they left with sizzling holes in the bottom, the side, anywhere that wasn’t immediately noticeable, until at last they returned to the dent in the wall that lead back to the cliffs.<br/>The blasting jelly had run out a little further along the balcony from their position. Mung exited the archway, but Ozai hung back. Azula motioned with her head to the hole.<br/>“Father, you need to go. I’ll light this and get back up to you,” she said, and Ozai nodded.<br/>“So you have time to get out?” he said. Azula frowned. What was he doing?<br/>“Yes, father.”<br/>“Then so do I.”<br/>Azula gaped at him, but Ozai would not move. Although her father was so very patriotic and proud of his nation, she couldn’t help but wonder how the stubbornness of the Earth Kingdom had leaked into him. She sighed a little, calming herself, her eyes closing, before raising her hand.<br/>Heat - no - energy. It crackled between her fingertips, the light begging for more. She gave it to the crackles, her right hand swooping down to her left, the lightning twirling in and out of her until she lunged forward, directing the bolt towards the last droplets of the jelly. It caught alight just as the last shock left her fingertips. Azula staggered back slightly, but then he was there. Her father grabbed her arm, and the two ran through the arch, stumbling over the rocks and crevices while the factory exploded behind them, leaving only the smoking ashes of a shaking peace.</p><p>The village was as they left it: peeling paint and shaking stilts that held together this broken community.<br/>Ozai, Azula and Mung stood at the edge of the dock as the village gathered in front of them. Dock, the local ferryman, had given them a ride into the town and was now telling the villagers of their feats. Slowly, their faces lit up in relief and excitement.<br/>“Has the Painted Lady given us help once again?” Azula heard one woman say, and many townsmen seemed to share her hopes. Now, Ozai stepped forward.<br/>“My friends,” he began. “Today is a new day for you. The start of a new life. The factory has been destroyed, and you will no longer suffer under it as you have been.”<br/>“But it was destroyed before,” a voice said. Turning, Azula founded herself staring into the eyes of a young boy, barely a teen. “A waterbender came to our town. She pretended to be the Painted Lady, but she did save the town. She destroyed the factory, but it came back.”<br/>“Yes,” Ozai smiled. The boy gestured towards the ruins.<br/>“Well, how do you know it won’t come back again?”<br/>Ozai nodded. “A great question, son.” He turned to face the villagers again. “The waterbender did not destroy the factory. She merely hindered its process. The officers were able to rebuild it and reuse it, as penance for the crimes our nation supposedly committed against the other nations. And when they did, the other nations were making a profit and, well… the waterbender couldn’t argue against that now, could she? Not while her people were being advantaged by the labour and suffering of our people.” The villagers muttered their slow and quiet agreements, and Azula had to hide a smile. No doubt the peasant had gained a lot of popularity in this town, but her father had a way with words that twisted even the most stubborn of minds.<br/>Ozai faced the boy again. “The factory will not come back. I give you my word, the word… of a Firelord.”<br/>Azula looked around as faces turned to shock, awe, apprehension. The people gasped at his words and promises, and one by one, the village bowed to him. Ozai, to Azula’s shock, returned the gesture. She and Mung hurried to do the same, but… why was he doing it? He didn’t have to, he was their Firelord.<br/>He straightened as the villagers did, and resumed his speech. “The people of the other nations have wronged you. They have tricked you, lied to you, used you for their own gain. The Avatar, someone meant to bring balance to the world, turned his back on you, only helping the other kingdoms recover. He ignored you, left you, your families, your neighbouring towns, to suffer under the rule of a Firelord whose allegiances seem to lie with foreigners father than to the needs of his people! I ask you, what kind of Firelord would do that? Where is his regard for his people?”<br/>The villagers looked angry now. Although her father’s bending had been taken, he was still able to light fires of justice, fires of revenge, in their hearts, and their eyes flickered with the flames. They began to chant, shouting their support, their loyalty, until the three were surrounded by the cheers of a people brought back from the edge.<br/>Dock approached her father. “Firelord, what do you want us to do?”<br/>Ozai smiled, and said something that, once again, shocked his daughter. “We need to clean the river. Permanently.”</p><p>The day fled by. The people of the village were able to organise boats and nets and barrels to help clean the pollution under Ozai’s instruction, but Azula wasn’t even surprised when Ozai took a net for himself and stepped into a boat alongside a group of men. Azula wasn’t surprised by much her father did now, it was all so strange.<br/>Azula and Mung were the only experienced firebenders in the village, and so they were tasked with heating parts of the river to try and purify them. Only one villager possessed the skill; a young woman around Azula’s age named Sainu, but she hadn’t been able to hone her talents, she was so cut off from the rest of the world. Azula couldn’t help but feel a little… sorry? That Sainu hadn’t had the chances she had?<br/>Get over yourself, Azula told herself. But the feeling was still there.<br/>She ignored it, instead showing Sainu how to hold the flame, how to control it. The girl knew how to summon it, and how to extinguish the fire, but she didn’t have the finesse that Azula had been rigorously taught and disciplined into by her father.<br/>Sainu nodded with every instruction, practising the technique without the flames first, before adding in the element. She seemed grateful for the instruction, for the belief that she could master her skills, but she never spoke it aloud, and Azula was grateful. She only knew the type of praise given after she had taken something, not given it. She never knew how to handle that kind of gratitude.<br/>She had never learned.<br/>The sun cast its own lights across the ripples of water that surrounded the village. The water wasn’t clean; they wouldn’t finish it for a while, but they had done enough for the river to heal itself naturally, overtime. The village celebrated, their enthusiasm and sheer delight covering the lack of decorations, the overwhelming emptiness Azula had seen before.<br/>Azula found her father in one of the empty houses that lined the platforms. The building had been turned into a water station for the afternoon work on the river, and Ozai was getting himself a drink from a barrel. The room was empty except for them.<br/>Azula cleared her throat. Ozai coughed slightly in surprise and turned to see her standing in the doorway. He wiped his mouth dry and smiled.<br/>“Azula,” he said, then noted her confused expression. “Is something wrong?”<br/>Azula breathed in slowly. “Why did we clean the river?”<br/>Ozai frowned lightly. “What do you mean?”<br/>“It’s just… we didn’t have to. We need to get the other villages’ support, and as much as I want this village to be normal again, it… just seemed like a waste of time.”<br/>Ozai nodded, and lowered the cup back into the barrel, where it bobbed along the surface of the water. He lowered himself on a seat and motioned for her to join him, which she did, and after a minute, he spoke.<br/>“You’re right. Cleaning the river took time, but you know what it won us?” Azula was silent. “Their faith. I spoke with the men on the river today. They want to support us, they want to fight for a better life, but I told them… no.”<br/>“What?” Azula asked. “But I thought -”<br/>“Yes, Azula. We do need them,” Ozai interrupted. “But if we want them to fight for us we need to show them what life could be like in a world without war, without the controlling influence of the Earth Kingdom. We need their lives to improve first. We can’t ask them to fight for something they’ve never known. We need to show them what life could be like before they will believe in it!<br/>“On top of that, not all of them will be able to join us. The elderly, the children, the mothers about to give birth or the ones having to raise toddlers. The injured and sick won’t be able to come, and we need their village to be working again so that they can live happily here while we win back the nation.”<br/>“Just… just our nation?” Azula asked quietly. Ozai blinked in surprise, and then nodded.<br/>“For the moment, Azula. Just our nation. Just our people.”</p><p>The following day was filled with plans and preparations for the journeys onward. A couple of the villagers had offered to come with the three to help liberate the villages in the surrounding areas, and Ozai had agreed, however he altered the plan that would follow over the next few days. The elders, along with Ozai, Mung and Azula, had gathered in one of the bigger houses, and her father now stood in front of a long table, a map spread on its surface.<br/>“General Mung will be escorting any of you who wish to join us to Ma’inka Island, where we will be able to regroup and organise. Gather any weapons, food, water and other important items that you can spare and take these to the island. We will need to build up our strengths before we can take on the capital, however as not everyone will come, be sure to leave supplies for them to live off until such a time comes that we may be able to replenish them.<br/>“My daughter and I will continue to other villages in the area to raise support for our cause. Sainu and Aiki have very kindly offered to guide us through to the villages, and so we will be able to meet again in a few weeks time at the island.” Ozai concluded outlining the plan by rolling the map into a neat cylinder. He looked up and was met with eager, expectant gazes. He smiled, and they walked out into the sunshine.<br/>The villagers quickly gathered their belongings. Only a handful were staying at the town, and so the rest, a good three score strong, loaded themselves into the boats and began to row away from the docks. Azula watched the boats slowly get smaller and smaller, their cries of farewell and promises to return soon being lost to the gentle winds that carved their way through the rocky cliffs around them.<br/>Sainu and Aiki had commandeered a boat for them. Aiki, a boy who Azula thought was perhaps a year her senior, seemed to feel more at home on the rippling river than on the shoreline, and as he steered the boat through the winding river, as the sun slowly set in front of their eyes, Azula leaned her head back on the boards of the boat and, smiling slightly, closed her eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Back To The Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The hot air balloon wasn’t the most extravagant method of transportation, and Zuko would certainly have other vehicles at his disposal, but Suki was grateful he had chosen the balloon. There was just something about the way the wind could either gently tickle your hair around your head or almost blow you off the ship that made these balloons fun for Suki.<br/>
And there was the added bonus that her boyfriend had helped design these, so if anything started to go wrong, Sokka would know how to fix it in time.<br/>
That was comforting.<br/>
But Suki just watched as Republic City slowly shrank in size, the ports and buildings and parks forming one grey mass of a city that was soon no more than a speck, and then it disappeared completely.<br/>
Islands jutted up from the choppy seas occasionally, scattering their browns and greens with the pure ocean blue. Some islands seemed to move with them, tracking their own journeys across the endless waters before they too were lost to Suki’s sight. Bird flew overhead, fish swam gleefully in the waters and once, Suki caught the sight of a long twisting shadow, moving just underneath the surface.<br/>
The fish stopped their gleeful paths after that.<br/>
Zuko and Sokka were talking in low whispers at the front of the balloon. Zuko would occasionally blast a few fireballs into the engine, not taking his eyes off Sokka as he talked about Earth Kingdom politics, a topic he was surprisingly more versed in than Zuko, but Zuko had been managing his own nation over the past few years. Sokka, whose duties to the Southern Water Tribe were more flexible now that Katara was helping their father, had taken the time to help sort out both major and minor disputes along the coastlines; both fights that still lingered after the war, mainly between Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation civilians, and fights between benders and non-benders, a harder situation to deal with, and they were usually the bigger conflicts.<br/>
Sokka began to explain the technical difficulties of law and order in the Western Earth Kingdom, and Suki’s thoughts began to drift away again, her eyes fixated on the boys but not really taking in any information. The air was a little chilly up here, but Suki didn’t mind, and the gentle hum of the engine made the ride so relaxing…<br/>
“What about Niapao?” Zuko’s question shook her back into reality. Niapao had been founded by Fire Nation civilians but had been surprisingly neutral in the War, and many Earth Kingdom citizens had migrated there to avoid conflict in their own areas.<br/>
Around six months ago, Sokka had gone over to settle what had been thought of as a minor dispute: a few benders and non-benders becoming caught up in the rivalry that seemed to plague the demographics, nothing too major.<br/>
He hadn’t returned for over a month. When he did, finally, wander into the small suite of rooms he and Suki were sharing in the main political centre, his arrival almost went unnoticed. He didn’t say anything, didn’t greet anyone or ask how things were; just went straight to his room and closed the door.<br/>
Katara found him a few hours later, lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling, twirling his boomerang between his fingers. And of course, the moment people came by to see him, he was as cheerful as ever, cracking jokes, showing little kids how to use boomerangs, catching up with the rest of the Team, like nothing happened.<br/>
But Katara had been certain something was wrong. And after a few days, Suki had had to agree. Something just seemed a little… off. Every week after that, he’d disappear for a day or two, returning in the darkest parts of the night, not mentioning his trips to anyone. The Team had been furious the first few times, but they eventually got used to it.<br/>
And he never said anything, and she knew not to press... at least, not after the last time they had all confronted him. But now… Sokka shrugged at the question.<br/>
“Similar to the other towns, I’d say. Niapao was a bit more… ruthless than the other towns, and a bit more lenient if things happened that aligned with what their council wanted. You see, the council is split into five pairs of officials that each govern a certain section of the city, so there is a pair on the law and justice, a pair on the maintenance and environment, a pair on agriculture and food, a pair on the military and a pair on the economy. Each pair has a Fire Nation and an Earth Kingdom official managing each sector, so the theory is that there will be less conflict between the two demographics. Doesn’t really work out in practise, but they’re getting there.”<br/>
Suki frowned. Less conflict between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom civilians? Sokka had been called over for a crisis between benders and non-benders, and had said nothing since to negate that.<br/>
But, then again, Sokka didn’t say anything about Niapao.<br/>
Until now. Suki drank it all in but he moved on to how each province contributed to the overall management of Republic City and, more importantly in Zuko’s eyes, how to deal with their officials. Suki’s mind wandered again to the ocean down below, where the fish swam along the coastlines of islands that slowly became bigger and bigger. The gaps of waves and sea became smaller and smaller, until at last the archipelago of the Fire Nation was stretched out below them.<br/>
Zuko and Sokka joined her at the front of the aircraft, Zuko’s face slowly breaking out into a smile. “We’re home, guys.”</p><p>The Fire Nation Capital gleamed in the sunset, gold and bronze shining up at them as Zuko and Sokka carefully guided the balloon to the palace. The city swarmed beneath them; little kids running between the legs of adults, through the streets and alleyways that leaned off the crowded squares; shopkeepers hollered and yelled from behind the tills of their shops; guards walked casually along the boulevards, enjoying the lights as they played on the water; people plastered streamers and lanterns and flew kites as the city became brighter and brighter, even as the sun slowly set on the horizon. The festival was beginning in full swing, and the city was thriving in it.<br/>
The balloon descended further, and Suki could start to make out individual faces. For many, the setting sun made the sky too dark to make out that the Firelord, his chief bodyguard and an important Water Tribe representative were flying overhead, but as Sokka came up beside her, Suki chuckled as a couple of faces, mainly children, saw them and opened wide in shock.<br/>
She felt another hand slowly clasp hers, and she looked up at him, his tentative smile growing more and more in the evening lights. She raised herself up on her toes to him, and drew him in for a kiss.</p><p>Zuko, Sokka and Suki unboarded the aircraft, a couple of attendees rushing to secure the lines that attached it to the landing pad, a couple more deflating the balloon and beginning to disassemble the balloon. As the three made their way to the throne room, a man and a woman, General Osama, Suki recognised, emerged from one of the corridors and approached them. The officials greeted Zuko with their bow and Zuko reciprocated, which seemed to surprise them.<br/>
That was something Suki couldn’t get used to, although she assumed it was because of Iroh, who had always taught all of them how to politely greet a person from whatever nation, not caring of their status or regard for that nation. It just seemed… strange that these people wouldn’t expect their Firelord, the leader of their nation, to show them the respect that they showed him.<br/>
Maybe it was past experience with Firelords… probably… it was past experience, she decided as she and Sokka made the bow together.<br/>
The woman nodded to Zuko. “Firelord… Chief,” she nodded to Suki, using the title everyone had adopted for her role as bodyguard. There wasn’t an official or fancy title for the Kyoshi Guard rankings, so Suki just answered to whatever came her way. “And… uh…” she faltered as she came across Sokka, who grinned.<br/>
“Boomerang guy.”<br/>
“Please ignore him,” Zuko said, waving a hand at Sokka. “General Osama, and General Mason. What can you tell us?”<br/>
The man, General Mason, spoke up. “Infrastructure wise, there was no sign of a break in. No doors broken, no burn marks, nothing. Whoever broke the Fire - I mean, prisoner - out had someone on the inside.”<br/>
“Which you’ve found,” Sokka said. The generals turned to him, surprised.<br/>
“Um… uh, yes, we have a suspect…” General Osama got out. “How did you -”<br/>
“General Mason said that there was no sign of a break in, at least, not where the infrastructure was concerned. You also seem quite confident that someone was on the inside. Just because there was no damage to the building doesn’t necessarily mean that there was inside help, it could have just been very well executed, but you think you’ve found them already. Also, you’ve just come from the prison area, but not the one where Ozai was being held, so you can’t have been inspecting the place, but you were probably just talking to your suspect -” he stopped himself. Suki suspected he could have gone on for longer, but he now seemed to realise that the generals were a bit freaked out. She hid a smile as Zuko turned his attention back to the generals.<br/>
“So you have a suspect?” he asked, and the generals quickly returned their attention to him, but they all noticed as their eyes flickered from Zuko to Sokka then back to Zuko again.<br/>
“Uh, yes. Lieutenant Ru. He’s being detained in prison sector 4. If you would…” Mason gestured to the hallway and Zuko hurried to assent, and the group walked to the sector.<br/>
Zuko was talking in low whispers to the generals about other factors in the escape a few feet ahead, so Suki stayed at the back with Sokka, who wasn’t saying anything. She frowned, looking up at him, so sure he would have begun to talk about how he had deduced the man on the inside from a few stains on the guards’ clothing, but he was looking at the floor, almost guiltily.<br/>
“Hey,” Suki whispered, nudging him. “What’s up?”<br/>
“I shouldn’t have done that, I’ve talked them up in front of their Firelord.”<br/>
“You just sped up the process. They would have said the same thing, just taken longer,” Suki said, but Sokka shook his head.<br/>
“Nah, I just embarrassed them.” He pushed back his hair from his face. It had started to fall a little out of his wolf’s tail, framing his jawline… “... stop doing that,” he finished.<br/>
Suki blinked. “Huh?”<br/>
Sokka looked down at her. “Oh, um… just stop talking up important people in front of their superiors.” They looked ahead to where the generals were continuing their conversation with Zuko. The generals seemed to be arguing what time it had been estimated that Ozai had escaped. Zuko looked back with a slightly amused, slightly exasperated expression.<br/>
Suki got it. She was starting to get frustrated with the details as well. Ozai had escaped, her first course of action would be to start trying to find him, not to start figuring out the exact happenings of that night.<br/>
The group reached the prison sector, a couple of guards marking the entrance. Suki studied them, wondering what kind of soldiers they would be working with for the time being. Yes, the Kyoshi warriors would be coming soon, but they would be delayed by the final arrivals of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation officials whom the Warriors had agreed to protect while the opening of the city was being held, but they would be sailing over to help find Ozai in about a week’s time. And Iroh wouldn’t get the message for a few days at the least, and then would have to travel over to the Nation.<br/>
So in the meantime, they would be working with these guards. Suki caught the eye of one in particular. He seemed a bit… at ease with the situation. He was standing at attention, ready as any of the other guards, but where it was noticeable how the guards held themselves, how their eyes had bags and wrinkles of worries lined their faces, this guard appeared almost… happy. Relieved.<br/>
He noticed her staring and nodded to her. She turned away, ignoring a small feeling of doubt that was growing in her. If this was an inside job, as Sokka and the generals believed, then she predicted that the escape hadn’t been the only thing planned out.<br/>
This wasn’t going to get better any time soon, she thought grimly.<br/>
The generals stopped in front of a prison cell, the guard directly outside hastily opening the door, and the three Fire Nation officers stepped aside as Zuko, Suki and Sokka entered the prison, the generals following them in after.<br/>
The lieutenant looked up warily, in a bit of a daze. A bruise was forming on the side of his face, his hands were shackled behind him, and a trickle of blood was falling from his nose. Zuko took one look at him and whirled around at the officials.<br/>
“I gave very explicit orders that prisoners were not to be subjected to physical interrogation,” he glared. The generals looked at each other.<br/>
“Firelord…” Mason began, then looked cautiously at the guard outside the cell. The guard took the hint, and retreated to a place out of earshot. He also looked suspiciously at Sokka, but Zuko raised an eyebrow at him and the general continued, a little reluctantly. “Meaning no disrespect… but your father has escaped, assisted by your sister, one of the most powerful firebenders in the world. Your father may have lost his bending, but they’re still a very powerful force. I… allowed the interrogation of this prisoner, because I want your father and sister detained as soon as possible. They have to be, or we may have a civil war on our hands, or even another one between the nations if they succeed.”<br/>
Zuko narrowed his eyes. “I know what my father and sister are capable of, but I will not allow this. You will not, no matter how dire the situation becomes, torture people for information or confessions.”<br/>
“Firelord,” Osama said. “If it gets as bad as a civil war, then… we may have to resort to these kinds of interrogations. If we don’t succeed, it will be worse for all the nations, and if all that stands between us and victory is information trapped in someone, then… we all have to make sacrifices in wartime, Firelord. Meaning no disrespect,” she added. Zuko hesitated.<br/>
“If it comes to that…” he said slowly. “But for the moment, no more physical interrogations please.” Zuko turned back to the lieutenant, then pulled up a chair to face opposite him. He nodded at the others.<br/>
“Thank you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk with Lieutenant Ru alone. Sokka and Suki, if you could go to my father’s cell? Do what you have to do there, talk to anyone you need to. Generals, if you could get in contact with officers around the nation. Tell them of the situation if they haven’t already been informed, and organise the military.” He turned back to the prisoner, and the four took the dismissal.<br/>
The generals excused themselves from Sokka and Suki’s company, but told them to use any resources they needed. Now that the initial shock of Sokka’s outburst had worn off, Suki could see a little resentment and embarrassment, moreso in Mason’s case, but they clearly respected him now. Osama and Suki had previous affiliations, and she smiled at Suki as they parted.<br/>
“Aight,” Sokka said, when the generals were out of earshot. “Let’s take a look.”</p><p>“Yeah, definitely an inside job…” Sokka said, crouching next to the barred wall of Ozai’s cell, hand planted above him. Suki looked over from where she was inspecting the door that led to the antechamber of his cell. Despite having killed hundreds of thousands, Ozai’s cell still bore a taste of his former position.<br/>
“It wasn’t both the guards though,” Suki said, pointing to a section on her wall. A small, almost unnoticeable scuff mark was there, gold on the red stained bronze. The golden colour had seemed familiar to her… she had pulled her sword out, and matched the hilt up with the wall, and sure enough, the colour was the same. “There was a fight here. The false guard must have disposed of the other one.”<br/>
“And that guard, or Azula, had the key. Take a look at the lock,” he said, gesturing for her to join him. Suko crouched down in front of the lock. There was nothing there. She turned to Sokka.<br/>
“What am I looking at? There’s nothing here… oh,” she realised as Sokka smiled.<br/>
“Exactly. No lock pick marks. Even the best lock pickers can make nicks on the lock and mess the mechanics of the lock workings. But this lock is as good as new…” Sokka faltered, looking at his feet. He stooped to pick something up.<br/>
“What is it?” Sokka held it to the light so Suki could see. She plucked it from his fingers.<br/>
“A hair…”<br/>
“More specifically, the type of hair that grows where a place is shaved too much. It’s short, stubby and dark… like a beard shaving.”<br/>
“But Lieutenant Ru has a full beard.”<br/>
“So it’s not him. He’s innocent.”<br/>
Suki blinked. “Are you sure? We don’t even know when this was left there. For all we know, it could have been here before, or after the escape.”<br/>
Sokka shook his head. “Ozai’s a pompous brat. He made sure every part of his cell was as spotless as possible, and after four years, he’s had a lot of experience. He would have noticed it. And ever since his escape, only five people have been in here; the female guard that discovered Ozai’s escape, General Osama, General Mason, you and me. Mason doesn’t shave, so unless it was the female guard, which I doubt, then it must have been the guard helping Ozai escape, because Ozai doesn’t shave and I doubt Azula does.”<br/>
“She might. You never know,” Suki grinned. Sokka gasped.<br/>
“Oop! Tea -”<br/>
“Are you guys done discussing my sister’s shaving habits?” Zuko was leaning wryly against the doorframe to the cell. Sokka and Suki both turned towards him as he stepped into the prison. Sokka smiled. “Maybe. Does she shave?”<br/>
“Do you have any good news?” Zuko asked Suki. She shrugged.<br/>
“I don’t know whether you would call it good or not, but Lieutenant Ru isn’t the man you’re looking for.”<br/>
Zuko nodded. “I know. I just spoke with him. He was meant to be on duty that night, which was why he was suspected. But he never showed up to his shift. He met a stranger at one of the nightclubs in the capital, and they, well, he, had too much to drink. Another guard must have taken his place.”<br/>
Sokka nodded, a bit more serious now. “We’re looking for a male guard, not too old, who shaves and absolutely butchers the job.”<br/>
“Sokka -”<br/>
“What? Toph could do a better job on me!”<br/>
Suki rolled her eyes. She turned to Zuko. “He may have left with Ozai and Azula. Have any guards disappeared?” Zuko shook his head.<br/>
“The first thing they checked, but everyone’s here, and no one’s resigned since the comet, and we’ve changed the whole prison layout since then. The guard must still be here, probably to try and get some traction for Ozai’s cause when the time’s right for them. “He’s… probably going to the little villages around the Nation, trying to get some control over them somehow. When he takes over the nation, he’ll -”<br/>
“Woah there,” Sokka said. “Let’s stay with if, alright? Let’s be positive here.”<br/>
Zuko closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But… ok, if he takes over the nation, he’ll turn his attention to the other nations, and try to do another full-on attack. We’re heading for a rough time.” His shoulders sagged with the thought. Suki went over to him, rubbing his shoulders as he fell against the wall.<br/>
“It’s going to be fine,” she said. Zuko looked up at her.<br/>
“How do you know that?”<br/>
“Well,” Sokka said. “He’s not going to get much popularity, from anyone, no matter how bad their situation is.” The other two looked at him, perplexed. “Well, I mean… on the day of Sozin’s Comet, the war ended with the most powerful man in the world being defeated by… a pacifist vegan.”<br/>
Suki and Zuko looked at each other, then snorted.<br/>
“And he was thirteen at the time!” Sokka finished. “Doesn’t set Ozai up as a powerful figure.”<br/>
“No,” Zuko said, a bit more relaxed. “I guess not.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Ripples in Flames</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Step and thrust, Sainu. Don’t just thrust. You need the step behind the stroke to deliver more power,” Azula directed, moving the other girl’s hands into a better position. The two were standing on the edge of a riverbank, the sun beating down on their backs while they worked. “Think of bending as another form of fighting. If you’re unbalanced, then you’ll fall,” Azula moved quickly, landing her foot between Sainu’s and twisting her body, knocking her backwards. Sainu quickly righted herself and set her feet in a better position. “But if you’re balanced…,” Azula tried the move again, a simple one, but this time Sainu blocked it. “You stay upright.”<br/>The other girl smiled, and wiped the sweat off her brow. The two had been at it for a few hours now, while Aiki showed her father to the nearby town. It had been a week since the first one, and they had visited a couple more since, each one as successful as the first. Dasodi Town, with a population over quadruple the other villages put together, would be their first big challenge. Either they would gain not only support, but a steady income of weaponry, money, food and other vital supplies.<br/>Or they would be captured in the name of her brother, and be brought to him for crimes against the crown.<br/>Go big or go home, you know?<br/>But they would be back in another few hours. And Sainu was making great progress with her bending. She was now almost completely in control of the fire she could summon, and control it she did just… not in the way Azula did. But the princess hadn’t grown up by the water. Sainu moved like… a waterbender - no… the river itself. Sainu seemed to capture the very essence of the water as she moved, more seamless than the waterbenders, more in tune with the power coursing within her than the bending of the water peasants, it seemed to Azula.<br/>But of course, this was a Fire Nation citizen. They were more adept at anything over the water peasants.<br/>Sainu practised the move again, summoning fire into her fist as she stepped, turned and thrust, a burst of flame shooting out into the air before extinguishing. She looked at her hands, a bit confused and frustrated.<br/>“Why does it do that?” she asked. Azula frowned.<br/>“What do you mean? That was good, you did that move perfectly!”<br/>“I did the sequence perfectly,” Sainu corrected. “But… when you did it, the flame didn’t extinguish as quickly. It was stronger, and, well, blue,” she finished quickly, looking a little sheepish as she said it.<br/>Azula blinked. “Um… I actually don’t know? Why my flames are blue, I mean. But I guess I’ve just had more practise than you have, and so I can hold the flames for longer. Maybe… try focusing on the flames?”<br/>Sainu did the sequence again, summoning flame at the end. It held for a few extra moments before disappearing again. Azula clapped her on the back.<br/>“Don’t be too disappointed,” she said, trying to cheer the girl up. Fuck, when did she begin to like this? Teaching? She had never benefited from it, being so naturally talented.<br/>So why was she starting to like sharing her own knowledge? Wasn’t she meant to be the prodigy of the Fire Nation, like her father said?<br/>But still… as Sainu managed a small smile, so did she, and as Azula began to teach her another of the basics, she felt almost… happy? No - proud - when Sainu followed her instructions and followed through with the move, the fire tingling their already sweaty skin as the sun slowly set on the horizon.</p><p>The girls had laid rocks on the ground in a circle, a pile of wood in the centre, waiting to be lit.<br/>The girls waited for the others.<br/>“What’s the time, Sainu?”<br/>“About five minutes past since you last asked me.”<br/>They waited a little more. Azula got up and walked around the fire pit, then walked back again, and sat down.<br/>Then got up again.<br/>“Azula, please relax.” The princess whirled around to where the other girl was sitting, so fucking patiently by the rocks.<br/>“Relax? My father should have been back half an hour ago!”<br/>“The river doesn’t always flow to the currents we expect, Azula…” Sainu gestured vaguely to the river beside them, where the current ebbed and flowed and meandered along its merry way.<br/>Azula snorted. “Philosophy? You’d get along with my crazy tea-making uncle.”<br/>Sainu chuckled. “Not philosophy, princess, although it does sound a little like it.” Azula sat down next to her. “More of a reality,” Sainu continued. “They travelled to the town by boat, and, well… as talented as Aiki is, he doesn’t control the little boat. The river does.”<br/>“Do the tides command this ship?” Azula whispered softly.<br/>“And if you want to be fancy and all ‘I’m an important Fire Nation person’, then yes,” Sainu laughed. “Ships and commands. Far beyond what I’ll ever see.”<br/>“Don’t doubt you will, Sainu,” Azula smiled. “When we gain enough support, we’ll head to Ma’inka Island ourselves to set up a more permanent base. You’ll have seen plenty of ships by the time we’ve won.”<br/>Sainu looked at Azula, the sun’s glow rippling off the waves and into her eyes. Sparkles of bronze flickered gently amongst the dark amber, along with a bit of…<br/>“You seem confident we’ll win so easily.”<br/>... Scepticism.<br/>Azula blinked. “Huh? Oh, well… why shouldn’t we? We’re facing my brother, for goodness sake -”<br/>“And the Avatar. Or won’t he be a problem?”<br/>Azula hesitated, looking at the river. “He’s… not the person I’m most worried about,” she admitted. “He can now completely control the Avatar State and all the elements but… I defeated him in Ba Sing Se. I can deal with him again.” She looked up into her eyes again. “And I’ll do so much better now that you’ll be there to help me.”<br/>Surprise ran into Sainu’s face, then she laughed. “Hey… that was a bit mean.”<br/>“I’m not kidding,” she said, and she… meant it, she realised. Truly. Sainu seemed to as well in those moments. “You’re… a natural at this, Sainu. I was born good at firebending, but you… you’re a bender. Not just a firebender… you can adapt to so many other techniques, something I preferred to stay away from. But you’re already using waterbending styles in your own bending. It’s… I’ve seen it before, and the man who did it was… almost unstoppable.”<br/>Sainu sat in silence for a moment. “Who was it?”<br/>Azula smiled sadly. “My uncle. He was… such a good firebender, but I only saw him bend like that once… when I shot lightning at him.”<br/>“You shot lightning at your uncle?” Sainu yelped. Azula laughed.<br/>“He was a traitor at the time!”<br/>“That doesn’t excuse you -”<br/>“It did at the time! That’s not the point, Sainu -”<br/>“Was he ok?”<br/>“That’s! What! I’m! Getting! To!” Azula shrieked, and Sainu collapsed into laughter, Azula own coming up slowly, disjointed, then the two were in a struggling mess of giggles as they tried to get air back into their lungs. Slowly, the world stopped spinning and they righted themselves, completely breathless.<br/>“Anyway,” Azula got out. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted -”<br/>“Oh, I apologise, my Princess,” Sainu bowed from the waist, Azula swatting her away, grinning.<br/>“Iroh did a waterbending technique… to redirect my lightning. He then kicked me in the stomach and sent me flying across the boat, in case you were interested.”<br/>“Oh, well I’m glad your uncle was ok.”<br/>“My uncle? What about my stomach?”<br/>“Oh, your stomach’s covered in muscles, I bet you didn’t even feel it,” Sainu playfully poked Azula. Azula turned away, shaking her head and smiling.<br/>“Thanks for the show of support.”<br/>“You’re welcome.”</p><p>“Ok, but they really should be back right now. Even if the ‘river controls the boat’,” Azula said, pointing at the sun, which had almost disappeared below the horizon. Sainu nodded.<br/>“Should we look for them?” she asked. Azula hesitated.<br/>“Father said to wait for them…” Sainu waved her hand, standing and brushing the leaves off her.<br/>“They’ll understand if we go to them, it’s been an hour. We can leave a note if that makes you feel better,” she offered. Finally, Azula nodded.<br/>“Ok.” She stooped over one of the bags, fishing for a brush, inkwell and parchment. She found them, picking her way over the other bags to get back to where Sainu was. “Can you grab some cloaks? We may need to do this… subtly.” Azula flattened out the parchment as Sainu picked her own way through the bags to find the cloaks.<br/>Azula hovered the brush over the paper. “Um…” she said to herself, then lowered the pen.</p><p>To Father and Aiki,<br/>Gone to look for you, we’ll be back soon.<br/>Azula and Sainu</p><p>Azula hesitated over the note, but then shrugged, blew on it to dry, rolled it up and placed it next to the rocks. It didn’t have to be too fancy: they just needed the message.<br/>And Azula couldn’t dispel the feeling that they wouldn’t find the note anyway.<br/>Sainu cleared her throat for Azula to look up. The last lights of the sun silhouetted her as she held the cloak out to the princess. Azula took it and stood up, fastening the folds together. Neither Sainu or Azula carried any weapons. <br/>They didn’t need to when they were the weapons.<br/>Azula looked over at the other girl. “Let’s go. Follow my lead. We can’t afford any mistakes.”</p><p>The town was a large one, both population wise and as to how big it spread.<br/>Which, Azula supposed, was why they chose it.<br/>But still… The enormity of it overwhelmed her slightly, but she pushed it down, had to push it down. Her father may be down there, she had to help him.<br/>Azula looked over the rock she crouched behind to where Sainu was. She looked just as worried as Azula felt. That was a big dedication to her father, especially seeing as they’d just met, and she felt proud of her father, that he could inspire such loyalty so quickly -<br/>“So… your father and my cousin. Let’s do this,” Sainu looked over at Azula, hopeful. Of course, Azula scolded herself. She was worried for Ozai, but she would be stressing more over Aiki. She shook her head to clear it.<br/>“Yes.” Azula squinted at the town. It wasn’t a day for a festival or celebration, but the town seemed to be gathering to the square, lanterns illuminating the paths with gentle glows. She stood up, and threw the hood over her face. “Let’s go,” she repeated.<br/>The girls walked up to the town walls. A couple of the village boys were standing either side of the gate, apparently having been appointed as some kind of guards. Azula rolled her eyes at them as they nodded and smirked at the people entering, as if they were untouchable.<br/>As if.<br/>“Ma’ams, I’m going to have to ask you to remove your hoods.”<br/>Oh, for fuck’s sake, what a pair of losers.<br/>Azula walked straight past the boy who had spoken, not deigning to acknowledge his presence. Sainu, however, lowered her hood, and smiled at the boys.<br/>Azula whirled around as the boys exclaimed, “Sainu!”<br/>“Hey guys!” she said, spreading her arms out. The boys ran in for a hug, and then seemed to remember their duties. “Um… can you get your… friend to remove her hood? This gathering is -”<br/>“It’s alright, Taoh,” Sainu smiled. “I’ll vouch for her, k?”<br/>“Technically, you’re not supposed to -”<br/>“Sainu,” Azula had had enough. “Are they going to allow two defenceless girls into the town, or do they think we’re too much for them?”<br/>The boys blushed to the tips of their roots. “No, no, we could handle you!” Taoh said. The other one nodded.<br/>“Yeah! If, you know, we needed to…” he eyed Azula a little warily, but his gaze relaxed as Sainu laid a hand on his shoulder.<br/>Push him, Azula thought. Go on.<br/>“Thanks Nuzo, much appreciated. See you guys around,” she hurried to Azula’s side. “That was a little rude,” she whispered.<br/>“Rude?” Azula whisper-shot back. “How arrogant are those guys? How do you know them? Why would you even want to associate with them?”<br/>“Ssh,” Sainu giggled, looking back at the boys. “They’re my cousins, it’s not their fault I got the better genes.”<br/>“Wow, don’t tell me I’m being rude.”<br/>“I’m not being rude. I’m being truthful -”<br/>“So was I!”<br/>“ - In a loving way, Azula!” Sainu finished. “Yeah, I’m rude to them, but I don’t mean it! Well,” she amended as Azula raised an eyebrow. “Not all the time anyway.”<br/>They continued down the path, the little lanterns casting glows that scattered the shadows among the cobblestones. Azula looked up, but the lights blocked out the stars that she knew she could see in the country. She had seen them a couple of times in the Earth Kingdom.<br/>The moon still shone brightly, through the throws of light to reveal its fullness with the leafy trees framing its glow. Azula stared at it a moment, then threw herself back into the town, she and Sainu weaving their way through throngs of people, towards the centre of the town, the square…<br/>“Quiet,” a voice commanded. The speaker appeared an old man, although he didn’t have to shout to gain attention; his voice was loud and he projected it well from the wooden platform he stood on. He also seemed to be adept at attracting attention, for the crowd’s whispers and tellings and stories piped down to nothing more than an echo. “Thank you. Tonight, the town as one shall make a decision; to support and continue the way we did during the war, under the reign of Firelord Ozai -” the sound of feet on wood took Azula’s focus away as her father climbed the platform, Aiki not far behind.<br/>Sainu relaxed next to her. “They’re ok,” she whispered.<br/>“Let’s make sure they stay that way.” The two girls began to weave again, getting closer and closer to the platform before they could move no further, for the rest of the town had crowded in as well to catch a better glimpse of the Firelord.<br/>“Thank you,” the old man reprimanded. The town quietened again. “As I was saying, whether we continue under Firelord Ozai’s leadership, or whether we obey the wishes of the current ruler, Firelord Zuko, and arrest these men in terms of treason.”<br/>The crowd was silent. The old man turned to her father and gestured to the town. “They’re yours for as long as you can keep them, Firelord.” He bowed, a gesture which her father returned, before the old man stepped down from the podium and Ozai began.<br/>“People of Dasodi… your lineage is remarkable. Descended from a long line of Sun Warriors and Fire Nation citizens, your ancestors regularly sought the council of the dragons. Indeed, you were so trusted in your knowledge and loyalty that you were called upon to serve in the battle against the Air Nomad kingdom, a defining moment in our history.<br/>“But since that day, your once thriving city and lauded population were… forgotten. Shunned, hidden away in the history books. The war took a heavy toll on our nation, but your willingness to volunteer yourselves to a just cause, combined with your strategic location meant that you were vulnerable to attacks from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe savages! They ripped apart your land, took many lives, and enslaved those they did not kill. Many officials in the Capitol have said that such slavery was a worser fate.<br/>“Look around you!” Ozai spread his hands out to point at the land around the town. “See what they did! You are recovering from those years, it is true, but it is a long process, a hard process.” He paused. “I trust that news of this Republic City has reached your ears?” A few nods encouraged him to continue. “This new city… founded by the leaders of today’s world, including Firelord Zuko and the Avatar, two of the elite sworn to protect you from harm… They have exploited you, my friends. You may have wondered why it is taking so long to rebuild? Why does barely any compensation or help come in from the Capitol? I’ll tell you - Firelord Zuko agreed to pay for any expenses the other nations require of him; whether it be necessary infrastructure or the extravagant whims of the Earth Kingdom, Firelord Zuko is paying for them all. The treasuries are spent, and nothing is left for you.”<br/>Again, Ozai paused, and looked around the town. Azula looked too, listened a bit more. The people looked stunned, some were whispering… Azula caught a conversation about how their inn’s infrastructure was crumbling, but without the fees… Another conversation was asking why Zuko would ignore them like this…<br/>But she heard another conversation, and soon one of the townspeople raised their hand. “Firelord Ozai? I have a question.”<br/>“Please, ask away,” Ozai rolled his hand.<br/>“If you have known of our suffering, the way we have been treated by other nations and indeed, by our own nation… why didn’t you help us before?”<br/>Ozai gently smiled, and sighed. “My friend… helping the people of the Fire Nation has always been my greatest achievement, and indeed, the wish for a more unified world began with my grandfather Sozin. He wished for the world to experience the wealth of the Fire Nation, and began to expand his borders, with your ancestor’s help! But as the war dragged on, we had to find new ways of helping the citizens around us. We had to stretch our resources… the Earth Kingdom always had the more agricultural lands, our own Nation being a trading one at heart.<br/>“That does not excuse the suffering this war has put everyone through, but I hope you will understand that our faith in your independence would reap rewards for the end of the war. And you all,” he addressed the whole crowd once again. “Have done an amazing job at rebuilding your town. As Firelord, I vow to focus my attention inwards, towards helping our Nation become strong and unified once more.” Ozai finished with a flourishing Fire Nation bow, before striding back to where Aiki stood at attention.<br/>The old man got up again, and quickly climbed the steps to face the town once more, now full of mutterrings and questions. “Fellow countrymen! We must decide on a course of action.”<br/>Another townsman raised their hand. “Have you helped any other towns and villages? Or are we the first that you have visited?”<br/>Ozai bowed in the direction of the speaker. “Friend, we have been to three smaller villages, all situated on the river, but Dasodi Town is the first settlement of considerable size and wealth that we have come to.”<br/>“Firelord! What happened the day of Sozin’s comet? The day the war was supposed to be won?”<br/>Ozai bowed again. “I’m afraid… that the Avatar did not share the same interests that our family held dear; the interests of sharing the wealth and prosperity of the Fire Nation with the world. He… is a young man, and it is my belief that he did not know any better at the time… there is also another thing to consider; he is an Air Nomad, but he was not around at the time of the first Comet, where the first battle was fought. He did not see the horrors many Air Nomads committed. It is my opinion,” he added, a little quieter. “That he was misled by members of the Earth Kingdom and of the Water Tribes, in order for them to win the war.”<br/>“But Firelord…” the same townsman spoke again. “He defeated you on the day of the Comet. And, well… meaning no offence, Firelord, but without your bending, how will you defeat him this time? Why should we support what appears to be the losing side?”<br/>Azula glared at the man, but then felt a… lack of a presence next to her. She turned, but Sainu was already halfway up the steps. She cursed softly, then followed.<br/>“Friend…” Ozai began, but got no further. Sainu stepped up beside him and flung off her hood, Azula doing the same, but standing next to Aiki.<br/>“Princess -”<br/>“Ssh,” she whispered. “Let her speak.”<br/>“Sainu!” another town member spoke. Sainu smiled.<br/>“Auntie,” she bowed, before turning back to the first man. “Ukai… you remember me, don’t you?”<br/>“Oh! Well, of course -” the man spluttered.<br/>“Great,” Sainu grinned, before turning to face the town as a whole. “For those of you who don’t know, I am from Nurati Village, which was the first village Firelord Ozai visited. He, along with Princess Azula and General Mung, destroyed the factory that had been exploiting our village. Like… as in completely destroyed it, not like when the waterbender did,” she quickly added. “But… yeah, he did that, and what’s more, he did it on a day where no worker from our village was hurt. He not only got rid of the factory but he saved many Fire Nation lives that day, including my father, whom you all will know. He used to do some trading work with Dasodi Town.” A few nods, some smiles, from the crowd seemed to give her some encouragement. Azula relaxed a bit more as Sainu gained a little more confidence. “So, you see… Firelord Zuko has done nothing for us. Neither has the Avatar. But Firelord Ozai has, and is continuing to do so. Come with us to Ma-inka Island.”</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Then -<br/>“If we do this, we’d be branded as criminals unless we won.”<br/>“If you do this,” Ozai said. “You would be seen as heroes. No one fights for a cause they do not believe in. I believe in this cause… My daughter does,” he gestured towards Azula, giving her a quick smile. She straightened under his gaze. “Aiki and Sainu do, as do three villages of people, ready to fight for their equality with the other nations.” He extended a hand out to his audience. “Are you?”<br/>Ozai was met with cheers.<br/>But Azula, for once, wasn’t smiling because her father had won a great victory. Well, that was only part of the reason.<br/>She was proud of her...<br/>She didn’t even know what Sainu thought of her. A teacher? Friend?<br/>Azula was proud of her anyway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Message on the Walls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Trigger Warning: Panic Attacks, Claustrophobia</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A jet of fire burst from her hand as she finished the dance. Kiyi looked up at him, her face split into a beaming smile. Sokka applauded.<br/>
“That was great, Kiyi!”<br/>
“I know,” she said, smiling back at him. Sokka laughed.<br/>
“Careful. You know what Uncle would say,” he tried, and miserably failed, to frown upon her as he admonished the girl. Kiyi rolled her eyes.<br/>
“Uncle wouldn’t mind!”<br/>
“Uncle would. He’d be all ‘It is always good to know your strengths, but pride may bring you down’,” Sokka said, standing up and walking over to her. “But bugger all that for the moment. Come and have an ice cream.”<br/>
Kiyi gasped, leaping up into the air, then stopped. She looked at the ground sheepishly, and whispered something.<br/>
“You’re going to have to speak up,” Sokka smiled. “I don’t have as good hearing as you do.”<br/>
“Mummy said I was only to have ice cream after dinner, and it’s only…” Kiyi looked up at the sun, tilting her head slightly, her eyes squinted so shut Sokka couldn’t tell if she was looking or guessing from sheer willpower. “12…?”<br/>
Sokka crouched down beside her, looking from her point of view. The sun was situated roughly around 2:30. “Why do you say twelve?”<br/>
“Because… The sun is up?”<br/>
Sokka grinned. “Yes. The sun is up. You are a master of observation -”<br/>
“Shut up, Sokky.”<br/>
Sokka gasped. “Kiyi! Who taught you that phrase?”<br/>
“You did.”<br/>
“Sounds about right.” Kiyi giggled, and he shook his head. “Alright. Can you see where I’m pointing?”<br/>
“Yeah. At the sun”<br/>
“Is that directly up?”<br/>
“... No.”<br/>
“So what time do you think it is?”<br/>
Silence for a little while as Kiyi’s head tilted from left to right. “... 3?”<br/>
“So close!”<br/>
“4.”<br/>
“Other way!”<br/>
“... 2? Oh! 2:30!”<br/>
“Yes!” Sokka high fived Kiyi as she opened her eyes again. “In fact, it’s just about time for afternoon tea! Which means ice cream.”<br/>
“But -”<br/>
“What your mum doesn’t know can’t hurt her,” Sokka raised his eyebrows, and once again, Kiyi’s face split into a grin. She reached up her hands.<br/>
“Piggyback?”<br/>
“You know it.”</p><p>Sokka walked through the streets of the Capitol, licking his ice cream as Kiyi balanced on his shoulders, her own ice cream in hand. She swayed with his footsteps.<br/>
“Where’s Zuzu?”<br/>
“He’s dealing with your… step-father? Yeah, I think that’s right…”<br/>
“What did my step-father do? Was he naughty? Will Zuzu put him in the time out?”<br/>
Imagining Ozai being put in the time out corner filled Sokka with so much serotonin, although honestly, this was why he loved hanging out with Kiyi. The now seven year old was the most precious child he had ever encountered, and her younger brother was just so adorable. Sokka wasn’t babysitting him today though - Roku was with Ursa and Ikem today while they helped Iroh finally install a branch of the Jasmine Dragon in the Capitol.<br/>
Sokka laughed, and reached up to fist bump Kiyi. “Yes. Zuzu will find your step-father Ozai and put him in the naughty corner for his crimes against humanity.”<br/>
“Oh well that’s good. Will Ozai learn his lesson?”<br/>
“Um… that’s a good question,” Sokka said softly. Kiyi frowned, then leaned over to look at Sokka, her face and hair falling upside down.<br/>
“Why are your eyes blue?”<br/>
“What?” Sokka blinked, as Kiyi righted herself on his shoulders. She took a bite out of her ice cream.<br/>
“Well, I’ve got brown eyes, and you have blue eyes, and Toph has white eyes, and Aang has grey eyes, and Katara has blue eyes, and Zuzu has one yellow eye and one white eye. Why is that?”<br/>
“Oh! Well, um… Toph has white eyes because she can’t see anything out of them. And Zuko can’t see anything out of his left eye. That’s why they’re white -”<br/>
“Why can’t they see?”<br/>
“Well, Toph was born that way.”<br/>
“But Zuzu wasn’t.”<br/>
“Um… yeah, well that’s why your stepfather’s going to the naughty corner.”<br/>
“Oh. What colour are Ozai’s eyes?”<br/>
“I think they’re yellow, like Zuzu’s. They’re related, so they have the same colour eyes. Katara’s my sister, which is why we have blue eyes -”<br/>
“But I’m related to Zuzu. Why don’t I have yellow eyes?”<br/>
“Brown and yellow are very closely related,” Sokka swerved through the crowds. Something was happening up ahead, but Sokka didn’t think it would be too much of an issue to keep walking. “And when you get older, your eyes may get lighter to be Zuzu’s colour.”<br/>
“But - What’s that?”<br/>
Sokka looked to where Kiyi was pointing and stopped dead in his tracks. A symbol had been graffitied on the wall of a building.<br/>
The symbol of the Phoenix King.</p><p>Kiyi took another bite of her ice cream as Sokka whirled around and marched away. The gathering crowd parted to let him through, signs of recognition on their faces. It was probably because of Kiyi, Sokka thought. Kiyi was technically a Fire Nation Princess, and she definitely didn’t shy away from her ‘royal duties’.<br/>
“Sokky?” Kiyi asked, tapping his head. “What is it? Why is everyone staring at it?”<br/>
Sokka grimaced. “I’ll explain later, Kiyi. We need to get to your brother -”<br/>
“Hey!” A voice came from the crowd. Sokka turned as a man stepped out of the many faces, blocking their path. “You’re with the Firelord, aren’t you? Part of the Avatar’s Gang!” Sokka blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected anyone to recognise him. He didn’t spend much time in the Capitol… why him?<br/>
“Yes, you are! You’re the boomerang guy!”<br/>
“Why is the Fire Nation Princess on you...?”<br/>
“What are you going to do abo...?”<br/>
The questions kept coming. Sokka knew they were but something was blocking his hearing, almost like… waves. Waves of something, crashing around his head. They shifted the world out of focus for a second, blurring and sharpening the faces that seemed to close in around him and… they were actually coming towards him.<br/>
This wasn’t his mind, they were coming closer, they were trapping him, they -<br/>
“Hey Sokky?” Kiyi asked, but Sokka didn’t hear her, there were so many waves, too many just crashing around him, but they weren’t waves anymore, they were rocks and boulders and walls and they were breaking around him again and -<br/>
A hand gripped his shoulder tightly. Something else got through… a voice… male. He said something, Sokka still couldn’t hear, but the falling boulders slowly turned into crashing waves, the sounds lapping around his ears as his eyes began to refocus on the world around him.<br/>
He was crouched down in the middle of the street, Kiyi standing next to him, holding his hand. He looked down at her, her brown eyes swimming wide in confusion and concern, and then someone else was there, helping him up and out of the waves.<br/>
It was a sergeant, Sokka saw as the man led the two over to a nearby bench and slowly lowered Sokka down.<br/>
“Hey,” the man said. It was faint, but at least he could hear people now. “You alright?”<br/>
Sokka breathed in slowly, then released it, realising he may have held onto it for too long. He kept breathing in, and looked up at the man. His face was young but weathered, his eyes looking like they had seen a million nights.<br/>
Sokka could relate to that.<br/>
He breathed out again. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I think so.”<br/>
“Sokky, can we go home now?” Kiyi tugged at his sleeve. He looked down and smiled.<br/>
“Yes, Kiyi. We can.” Sokka braced his hands against the bench and pushed himself up. The world swayed a bit… another wave crashed down and he was caught under… but then the sergeant was there, hastening to help as he righted himself above the waters. He nodded in thanks.<br/>
“Thank you, Sergeant…”<br/>
“Li. Sergeant Li, Sir.”<br/>
“Thank you, Sergeant Li but you don’t have to call me ‘sir’. Just call me Sokka, if that’s alright,” Sokka smiled as they walked slowly out of the alleyway. Sokka looked back at the graffiti as they left, Ozai’s symbol glaring down at them as they left.</p><p>“So my father has supporters in the city now,” Zuko groaned, the fires around his throne, which he only kept for a warm glow to light the room, leapt up to around Sokka’s height. Suki coughed beside him and Zuko, opening his eyes, lowered the flames again and began to pace around the room. He looked up at the pair. “What was the general reaction? You said there was a crowd gathering around the sign?”<br/>
Sokka and Li glanced at each other. They had deposited Kiyi off at the new branch of the Jasmine Dragon (Sokka having wiped off any trace of the ice cream from her face), and had continued back to the palace to report the graffiti.<br/>
“Um… they were concerned…” Sokka ventured. “They wanted to know what would happen next. They wanted to know how Ozai’s supporters had entered the city, and if they would be safe from them. And…?” He looked over at Li. He hadn’t heard any of the other questions, but he assumed they were the usual questions when enemy activity occurred: generally asking about military standings and personal safety. Li stepped forward.<br/>
“Firelord… there was some… arguments among the crowd, at least… when I was walking over. Some in the city seem sympathetic to your father’s cause,” he finished, a little apologetically.<br/>
The flames shot up again for a flash, then Zuko stood up. “Sergeant Li,” he said. “Thank you for your assistance today. Please, return to your duties.” Li nodded, gave the Fire Nation bow, which Zuko returned, before turning around to leave. He smiled at Sokka as he passed, a gesture Sokka was more than happy to return.<br/>
As the massive doors closed behind Li, the flames shot up again as Zuko sagged on his throne. “Ugh. I hate everything.”<br/>
“That’s fair,” Sokka said. He looked up at Suki, who was frowning.<br/>
“I thought you were babysitting Kiyi today?”<br/>
“I was,” he said. “We were having a walk around the Capitol when -”<br/>
“Wait wait wait wait wait,” Zuko interrupted. He pointed a finger at Sokka. “My sister saw the symbol? She knows? Sokka…”<br/>
“What? I didn’t mean to walk her into the sign, it just… happened?” Zuko and Suki facepalmed in perfect synchronisation, which Sokka thought was extremely unfair, but their deed had been done.<br/>
“Sokka, you could have walked away -”<br/>
“I was walking away!” Sokka protested.<br/>
“Oh really?” Zuko stood up. “And Li said that you met at the graffiti, not a few blocks away, Sokka! I don’t want my sister dragged into this!”<br/>
“What, you think I do?” Sokka yelled back. Zuko leapt over the flames and landed a few feet away.<br/>
“Yeah, seems like it!”<br/>
“Guys, can you both just calm down?”<br/>
“It doesn’t matter how far away we keep her, Zuko,” Sokka ignored Suki. “She’s your fucking sister. Like it or not, she’s going to be dragged into it.”<br/>
“She’s too young!”<br/>
“You think that’s going to stop your father?” They were in each other’s faces now. “You think age stops your father? Do you honestly think it ever did?”<br/>
“That’s enough.”<br/>
“No, it’s not. It’s obviously never enough with you, Zuko. Why else do you think you got half your own face burnt off?” Even as he said it, Sokka knew he’d overstepped but… hey, he was right. Kiyi couldn’t stay out of this. Yes, she was seven years old, but she was the Fire Nation Princess, second in line and already a worthy firebender. She couldn’t just stay out of what could potentially be a civil war.<br/>
Zuko’s eyes narrowed, and then Sokka was flying, flying backwards through the air. He slammed back down on the ground a few feet away. He growled slightly, and jumped back up, running at the Firelord.<br/>
He met him in a grappling hook, heaving him up off the floor until Zuko landed a foot on his chest, and then they were just pushing against each other, trying to knock the other off balance.<br/>
Sokka was winning, he knew. Zuko was strong, but when you were a bender, you tended to only learn how to fight like a bender.<br/>
And then he couldn’t feel his right arm anymore. He staggered away from Zuko, but Zuko was reeling away as well…<br/>
Suki stood in between them, fists raised against them.<br/>
“That is enough!” she yelled, her steely grey eyes piercing sharper than any metal could. Sokka and Zuko looked away, ashamed. “What is with you guys? You need to work together on this, otherwise you’re doing exactly what Ozai wants.”<br/>
Sokka sighed. “Sorry.”<br/>
Zuko shook his head. “No… you were right.” He sat down on the ground, and after a moment, Sokka and Suki joined him. “I’m sorry, I just… I don't want Kiyi involved in this. I don’t want her hurt.”<br/>
Sokka looked down again, even more ashamed. He should have remembered this sense of… overprotectiveness, from when Katara was younger and couldn’t control her own bending. The amount of times he had bluffed and lied to Fire Nation raiders about her…<br/>
He couldn’t blame Zuko.<br/>
“Zuko… this is your father,” Suki began. “He already knows about Kiyi, Azula knows about Kiyi… I think instead of hiding her, we need to start training her. To fight and to lead in case… something happens.”<br/>
Zuko frowned. “She’s… too young.”<br/>
“Zuko, she’s already been kidnapped.” Suki glared at Sokka, telling him to stop. Sokka, again, ignored the copious amounts of wisdom emanating from his girlfriend and continued. “She’s already had to fight, lead and do a lot more than is expected of a seven year old.”<br/>
“Exactly,” Zuko said. “She’s seven. She shouldn’t have been kidnapped, she shouldn’t have been involved in fighting and -”<br/>
“But she was, Zuko. And you can’t change the past.” Zuko glared at Sokka. “We need to start training her. Properly. I don’t mean the fancy dragon dances that she can already do, I mean proper fighting training, proper leadership training.”<br/>
“What would you have me do?” Zuko interrupted. “Abdicate the throne for a few days?”<br/>
“Wouldn’t hurt.”<br/>
Zuko blinked in shock. “What? My father has just escaped prison and you want me to stop ruling the country? Great idea, Sokka. Brilliant.”<br/>
“Yeah, Sokka, I’m with Zuko here. He needs to rule, now more than ever.”<br/>
“No, not… ugh how do I explain this,” he muttered, pressing his hands against his temples. “Ok… um… When Uncle Iroh gets here, don’t abdicate but… all rule together? Uncle Iroh, you and Kiyi.”<br/>
“Uncle doesn’t want to be Firelord.”<br/>
“No, you’ll still be Firelord, but kind of… present? The ruling of the Nation as a unified front of Uncle, you and Kiyi. You and Iroh can teach Kiyi how to lead and firebend, and we,” he gestured to himself and Suki. “And the Kyoshi Warriors, can teach her other ways of fighting. Then she’s learning on multiple fronts, and she can engage with Fire Nation citizens at the same time.”<br/>
Zuko frowned, but Suki began to smile. “That’s not a bad idea. And in a way… if you did this Zuko, you’d be protecting Ikem, Ursa and Roku a bit more. I mean, obviously they may still be targeted, but you three would be the main driving force to, I guess… stop the rebellion.”<br/>
“Propaganda, you mean?”<br/>
“Yeah! Kind of,” Sokka said. Zuko began to smile, then looked at the two.<br/>
“I’m not going to win this argument, am I?”<br/>
“Nope. Get used to me winning arguments, Zuko,” Sokka grinned, then stood up, turning towards the doors. Suki and Zuko rose with him.<br/>
“Where are you going?” Suki asked.<br/>
“Imma get a better look at the graffiti. Wanna come?”<br/>
“Didn’t you get a good enough look before?” Zuko asked as they walked towards him. “You were there long enough.”<br/>
Sokka hesitated. “Guess I got distracted,” he mumbled. Behind him, he could sense their concern. But the crowds wouldn’t be there this time. They had set a perimeter around the area, so it would just be them. Nothing pressing in on him, no one closing around him.<br/>
He could finally clear his head.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Secret of Hechasi Village</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>More and more flocked to their cause.<br/>After Dasodi Town began to support them, collecting more villages and towns was a breeze. A couple of villages even approached them, asking for the honour of joining their liberation.<br/>An honour Ozai was more than happy to give.<br/>Their little party travelled north, just the four of them. Although many asked to join them in liberating the towns of the Fire Nation, Ozai said what he always said: More were needed at Ma’inka Island. The four of them were enough to free the other towns.<br/>They had built themselves up to be quite the team. While Sainu and Azula practised firebending during the day and into the hours of the night at times, Aiki and Ozai would scan the surrounding areas and villages that they could approach, and seek a warm welcome.<br/>They were always given one.<br/>They stuck to the outlying villages: the smaller, more depraved and more neglected towns and settlements seeking nothing more than a purpose, a strong one for their lives. Any chance they could find, they would take, Ozai knew, and so he offered one.<br/>And they always took it.<br/>Just as Sainu and Azula formed their firebending pair, Ozai and Aiki began to strike a bond. And now, as Azula watched them talk over the embers of their dying fire, their banter and laughter reminded her of...<br/>The smoke curled grey around Ozai's beard, his cup of water suddenly sporting a curl of smoky steam. A flicker of fire hovered in front of Aiki's face for a moment, almost like a scar, his short black hair pushed back…<br/>Azula blinked, the flames roaring up for a second in response to her shock, but then died down again, and her father and Aiki were there again, talking in the firelight.<br/>“Hey,” a soft voice said behind her. Azula leaned against Sainu’s warmth: how did she stay warm? It was freezing, Azula would have frozen if not for the fire and multiple blankets she was hoarding. But Sainu was warmer still. Azula looked up into Sainu’s eyes, firelight dancing among the lighter pebbles that broke through the dark brown waters…<br/>“Azula?”<br/>“Huh?”<br/>Sainu smiled. “I asked if you wanted some more food. There’s still a bit left over.”<br/>“Oh. No, no, I’m good. Thanks.”<br/>“Alright. Just tell me if you want some. It’s hot food, so it would warm you up. Shit Azula, how are you so cold?”<br/>“I don’t know! I’ve got all the blankets -”<br/>“Yes you do.”<br/>“I - that’s rude.”<br/>“Not any less rude than your blanket hoarding. Come on,” Sainu reached a hand over and tugged a couple of blankets towards herself. “Share.”<br/>“No,” Azula pouted. “Why would you do this to me?”<br/>“Because I’m a heartless bitch.”<br/>“But I’m cold!”<br/>“So? Eat some food! It’ll warm you up!”<br/>“I’m surrounded by hot things, Sainu. The fire, the blankets, you…” Azula stopped, feeling her face going red. In the firelight, Sainu grinned wickedly.<br/>“You think I’m hot?”<br/>“Temperature-wise!" Azula sputtered. "Yes, you’re absolutely boiling!” She sat up quickly, turning her face away so Sainu couldn’t see how red it was. “Here!” She picked up a cup of cold water and flung it into Sainu’s faced. Sainu yelped, and tore off all the blankets.<br/>“Hey! Give them back,” Azula yelled.<br/>“Nuh-uh! You put down that water!”<br/>“Give! Me! My! Blankets!”<br/>“No!”<br/>“Girls,” Ozai’s sharp voice cut across the flames. They turned to him slowly; he rolled his eyes at the pair. “Calm down. You can share the blankets. Put the water down, Azula.”<br/>Azula dropped the cup, then scrambled to pick it up again, putting it back in the bag. “Yes father.”<br/>Sainu sat back down, holding the blankets up for Azula to climb into. Ozai smiled again, his tired eyes almost seeming… fatherly. “Now, Aiki and I are going to approach another village tomorrow evening; Hechasi Village. After Hechasi, we’ll be at the coast, and then it’s a day or two’s sailing to Kosuki Island, where there are another few towns on our list before we arrive at Ma’inka Island. Azula, I want you and Sainu to continue your firebending training in the morning, but I want all four of us at Hechasi so that we can get off this island as soon as possible.”<br/>“Is something wrong?” Azula asked, snuggling up against the warm furnace that was Sainu.<br/>“Not too much. I received word from our friend in the Capitol that a couple of our supporters have done some… promotion of our cause. They graffitied a building with the Phoenix King symbol, which we were going to do anyway, but I wanted it to be done later, when we were closer to Ma’inka Island. But no matter. We’ll just have to be a bit faster over the next few days.”<br/>Ozai stood up, brushing off a bit of soot. "We should all get some rest. I'll take the first watch… who's off for tonight?"<br/>"Azula," Aiki said. Azula frowned at him from under the blankets. She could do a watch tonight, she wasn't tired. And they needed her… didn't they?<br/>And her father always took the first watch. Why was that? What was bothering him?<br/>"Alright. Sainu, you go second watch, and Aiki can do the third one. Get some sleep," he finished, in a tone that plainly said there was to be no rebuke. Azula, realising that she had opened her mouth to do just that, closed it and snuggled further under the blankets. Sainu did the same next to her.<br/>Across the dying embers, Aiki settled down as well, and with her father on the first watch, Azula closed her eyes and drifted off.</p><p>“First form, third form, sixth form, second form, finish!” Azula called as the team warmed up for the day’s practise. It was a typical firebender warmup: seven forms that both stretched and strengthened the bender, but they were to be performed without bending, so Aiki and Ozai often joined them. The forms were called out by the leader in a random pattern and could go on for as long as possible.<br/>Azula liked to keep them short. The bending was the fun part.<br/>Sainu and Aiki righted themselves for the next warmup pattern; a traditional bending warmup required at least three of the patterns, but Ozai walked over to the nearby tree they were hanging their coats on. He shrugged his own on. “You girls start your bending training. We need to be in the village by midday.”<br/>Aiki breathed out, but Azula couldn’t tell if it was in relief or disappointment. He hurried after her father and pulled his own shirt on. Their camp was in a slightly larger clearing a few dozen metres away, so the two walked down the trail to pack up while Azula and Sainu faced each other.<br/>They had moved on from Azula just tutoring Sainu. Now, they were sparring.<br/>Azula felt the stillness of it all wash over her while they circled each other. Back when she was chasing the Avatar and his friends, Ty Lee and Mai had often talked of a thrilling sensation during a fight; their adrenaline had raced ahead of them and fought the battles for them. But Azula had never felt that before. It was always a calming sense, like a small wave, that cleared her head. She could remember every move, every step, every breath. <br/>Sometimes, Azula was the only one who actually remembered the whole fight. Ty Lee and Mai’s adrenaline rushes sometimes created small black outs.<br/>Although it was different, Azula was glad this calm came over her. It meant that she remembered odd little quirks about each of her opponents, should she have to fight them again. She knew all the tells for Team Avatar, the tells for Mai and Ty Lee and now, Sainu’s tell: a small release of breath right before an attack.<br/>And there it was.<br/>And there was the attack. Sainu flipped her body up and over into an airborne kick, a blast of fire streaming from her foot towards Azula. She dodged the blast, landing on the ground and rolling over and over, punching the air full of fire as she turned, before she came to one knee.<br/>Sainu had leapt back from the attack Azula had given: now she lunged forward, her hand sweeping the air as Azula jumped up from her kneeling position into a roundhouse kick. Her foot struck Sainu on the cheek but then the girl grabbed her foot and tore it down. Azula braced her arms on the ground for impact, and then she was rolling again, Sainu shooting flame after flame.<br/>Azula righted herself and the two began to circle again. It was almost immediate that Sainu breathed out again and charged, slamming into Azula in a grapple and they both slammed to the ground. Sainu tried to pin her but Azula lifted her shoulder into Sianu’s, pushing her up until Azula could move her legs again. She swept them under Sainu’s and crashed onto the ground on top of her, her hands pinning Sainu’s wrists to the ground, her knees digging into the other girl’s legs.<br/>And then she stopped.<br/>Sainu stared up at her, her eyes sparkling despite the fact that she’d lost. Her mouth twisted into an insufferable smirk, dark locks falling away from her face. Azula’s stomach felt like it had just been dropped into a bottomless pit and all she could do was stare.<br/>“Your face has gone all red, Azula.”<br/>Azula blinked. “Um... it’s not… it’s not red,” she spluttered, but Sainu was smiling even more now.<br/>“It’s red, alright. It’s ok. Red suits you.”<br/>Azula, for once, was absolutely speechless.<br/>“Do you want to spar again?” Sainu asked. Azula closed her eyes and opened them again. Sainu was still there, and Azula’s wits were still gone.<br/>“Um… yeah…” Azula shook her head to clear it. “Yeah, of course.” She released the pressure on Sainu’s body, going to push herself up. Fuck, what was with her today, she thought as Sainu breathed out a puff of air.<br/>Wait… Azula thought.<br/>Sainu leapt up, flicking her wrists up and out of Azula’s hand, her fingers forming points as she jabbed Azula’s arms, all the way up to her shoulders. Azula yelped, she couldn’t feel her arms, her body felt numb. Sainu sweeped her legs, and she was falling back but then Sainu caught her.<br/>Azula could feel Sainu’s arms lower her to the ground as the feeling returned, but by then she was well and truly pinned under the other girl. Sainu smiled again as they stared at each other.<br/>“Well that was over faster than I thought it would be.”<br/>“I - you cheated,” Azula accused.<br/>“No. I believe you would call that… ‘an opportunity taken’,” Sainu readjusted her hands on Azula’s wrists so they were almost touching together above her head. “Did I mention that red suits you?”<br/>“Oh very funny,” Azula rolled her eyes, looking away as Sainu laughed.<br/>“I’m serious. Hey,” she took a hand off Azula’s wrists and cupped her face. Azula’s eyes widened as they met Sainu's again. “Looking away won’t change the colour of your face.”<br/>“Yeah but you won’t be able to see,” Azula muttered sheepishly. Sainu frowned.<br/>“Does it… change things? If I see?”<br/>Azula looked up: Sainu’s eyes were a bit concerned. Azula smiled gently.<br/>“No. I suppose it doesn’t.”<br/>Sainu paused on that for a moment, then her smile grew again. Azula raised herself up from the ground, and Sainu didn’t stop her. She propped herself on her elbows, Sainu still above her, then…<br/>“Hey guys! Hey!” Aiki stumbled out from the bushes. He paused, looking at the two. “Um… have I…” he gestured between the two. “Interrupted something? Or…”<br/>“No!” Azula said. They sat up quickly, beginning to dust themselves off. “No, no. We were just…”<br/>“Sparring,” Sainu finished. Azula nodded.<br/>“Yeah,” she smiled at Aiki. Aiki frowned in confusion.<br/>“Right. Well, um… we’ve packed up camp, so… um, yeah. We’re good to go.” He began to jog back, then stopped. “Um… are you sure I didn’t… um -”<br/>“Aiki, we’re fine,” Sainu said, standing up while continuing to brush herself down. “We were sparring, is all. We’ll be there in a minute.”<br/>Aiki left and Sainu stared down at Azula, who was quickly shaking off the last of the leaves. She looked up as Sainu extended a hand and, grinning, Azula took it.</p><p>Hachasi Village appeared to be more of a sprawl than a village. Houses began littering the mountains from a kilometer away, and then bam! A whole random bunch of them in what Azula assumed was the village center, and then they petered away again.<br/>Ozai set up in the middle of the village, as he always did. The town gathered to listen to his speech, the same one he always delivered. The same questions were asked, the same answers were given and the same rally of support was cried.<br/>Honestly, Azula wondered how Ozai had the patience for it all.<br/>But there was something truly satisfying about seeing the villagers’ eyes light up with ideas and purpose and strength, something satisfying about how they approached them with additional questions and how they responded to their given tasks.<br/>Sainu and Azula went off into the crowds, searching for benders as they always did, although there generally weren’t any benders in villages like these. When benders discovered their abilities, their village usually supported them and sent them off to one of the larger towns or cities to receive proper training.<br/>It seemed to be the case in this town as well. Every person they asked just shook their heads.<br/>“No firebenders here,” they all said.<br/>When they had gone around what appeared to be the whole town’s population, Sainu shrugged. “Well, I guess it’s the same in all the other towns. We won’t meet too many firebenders until we visit a city.”<br/>But Azula frowned. “Why are they emphasising that they have no firebenders?”<br/>Sainu frowned. “Because they don’t have any?”<br/>Azula shook her head. “No… when we went to other towns, they just said there were no benders. These people are specifically stating that there aren’t any firebenders.”<br/>Sainu shrugged. “It’s probably nothing. Don’t worry about it.”<br/>But Azula walked up to one of the village leaders, an old man hobbling about on his cane. He bowed as Azula approached.<br/>As he should, she thought, but then stopped herself. She couldn’t think like that anymore. Her father had made it clear that these people were their equals, as well as their followers. Azula bowed back.<br/>“Princess. How may I help you?”<br/>“Oh, I was just wondering if you had any benders in the town? Sainu and I are firebenders and we’re looking to train some more.”<br/>“Oh…” the old man fidgeted with his cane. “No firebenders here. Sorry.”<br/>“Not just firebenders. Any type of bender.” Azula analysed the man as she said that, taking in his posture, his eyes. She could practically feel his blood pressure rising, his body was emitting heat so fast.<br/>“Um… not any that you would want to train, Princess.”<br/>Sainu had walked up next to her. “Why not?”<br/>“Well… she’s not a firebender. She’s… mad. She came to us during the war… we’re not supposed to talk about it.”<br/>Azula was taken aback. This was one of their leaders, and they weren’t meant to talk about this woman? Who was she?<br/>“It’s alright,” Sainu smiled, her eyes lighting up. They had always done that, Azula thought. Only now, she supposed she was looking for it. “You can tell us.”<br/>The old man fidgeted with his cane some more. Then he called out; “Sheka!”<br/>Sheka was a middle-aged man, and apparently was one of the leaders as well. He was talking to her father, along with a couple more of the village leaders. She had no idea where Aiki was. Knowing him, he was entertaining the youngest of the village while the adults worked.<br/>Sheka excused himself from the conversation and jogged over. “Chosu.” He nodded to the girls. Azula nodded back. She enjoyed this more laidback greeting more than the bow, she realised.<br/>“Sheka… can you take these girls to the prison? They want to see the bender.”<br/>Sheka stared. “You… want to see… her?”<br/>Azula nodded. “If that’s alright.”<br/>“Oh, why certainly, Princess, only… she’s mad.”<br/>“So we’ve heard.”<br/>“Yes, well… if you’re sure… This way, please.” They began to walk through the village street, passing her father’s group.<br/>“Lord Ozai, I believe this may interest you as well,” Chosu said. Ozai looked up from his conversation and nodded.<br/>“If you will excuse me, gentlemen.” The village leaders bowed to him, and he bowed back before joining them.<br/>“Sheka…” Sainu began. “What happened to this woman? Why did she turn mad?”<br/>Sheka looked over at Chosu to explain. The old man frowned, his wrinkles curling around his face like worms.<br/>“She came to us many years ago. Long before either of you were born. A fire nation woman, she appeared. She built a life here, a good one. She was well liked by the town… she was a good woman.<br/>“But then… people began to go missing. Years and years of it. Once a month they would just… vanish. We had no idea. Finally, a group of kids visited the village. They stayed at the inn.. Built up a friendship with the woman. And then discovered that it had been her all along.”<br/>They had reached the prison. Sheka wrenched open the door and stepped inside. Choshu went to follow, then stopped, a hand on the door frame. He faced Sainu. “Her… special bending abilities drove her mad.” And then he went in. <br/>Sainu turned to Azula. “What kind of bending makes a person go mad?”<br/>Azula shrugged, but Ozai’s face began to darken slightly. “I’ve only heard rumors,” he said, before he entered as well.<br/>Azula and Sainu glanced at each other, before they too entered the prison.<br/>There were quite a few cells, but only one was occupied. An old woman sat inside, her arms bound to her sides by a thick straight jacket. She raised her head as they neared the bars, and smiled.<br/>The smile sent a few chills down Azula’s spine, but she squared her shoulders, and opened the door to the cell.<br/>“Princess -”<br/>“Sheka, she’s in a straight jacket. What can she do?” Azula asked. Sheka quietened down, but she could still sense his concern. She frowned down at the woman. What had she done that made Sheka so nervous? She was in a straight jacket, for fuck’s sake. Azula knew first hand what a straight jacket felt like. She felt more insane inside one than out of it. They were terrible for your mental health. What was better was…<br/>Why was she thinking of this now? She shook her head, then sat in front of the woman.<br/>“Hi,” she began.<br/>“Hello,” the woman replied. She carved her o’s out of the air when she spoke, similar to…<br/>“Katara?” Azula muttered. The woman smiled.<br/>“No, but I had the pleasure of knowing her. She was a great bender, truly.”<br/>“No, I mean… you have the same accent,” Azula explained.<br/>“Oh yes. I’m from the Southern Water Tribe. And you?”<br/>“Fire Nation Capitol… you’re a waterbender.” She looked back at Sheka for confirmation, but the lady in front of her nodded.<br/>“Oh yes. Although that’s not my speciality.”<br/>Azula hesitated. “What’s your name?”<br/>The woman stared at her. “Why… my name… no one’s asked me that in a long time.” She considered Azula, her blue eyes piercing with such a familiar point.<br/>Just like Katara’s eyes, Azula thought. The similarity was uncanny.<br/>“My name is Hama, dear child.”<br/>“Hama…” Azula rolled the name around on her tongue. “How did you know Katara?”<br/>Hama smiled. “Why… I was her mentor. I taught my form of bending.”<br/>“But you’ve been in this village. How -”<br/>“Oh child. My bending style… My specialty is not waterbending. Katara learnt that from that dingy old Master Pakku, but how she managed to convince him to train her, I don’t know.”<br/>Azula frowned. “Sheka, I thought you said she was mad.”<br/>“I taught that girl… bloodbending.”<br/>“Oh, I see the ‘mad’ part now.”<br/>Hama laughed. “Oh child… I am not mad. I simply let the calm wash over me while I work.” She eyed her. “When I bloodbend… I feel more calm and more powerful than I have ever before. The power I hold… it caresses me. You’ve felt that power as well.”<br/>Azula had. The comet.<br/>Not the best memories. And unfortunately, when the calm washed over her, she remembered everything.<br/>“Wait wait wait wait wait… did you say the ‘calm’?”<br/>“I did. You feel it too.”<br/>“Azula,” her father called out behind her. “We need to go. These people need to get to Ma’inka Island, and we need to get to Kosuki.”<br/>“Father… can Hama come with us?”<br/>Chosu and Sheka gasped and Ozai frowned. “Why?”<br/>Azula gestured vaguely. “I think… she could help us.”<br/>“Why would she want to help us, she’s a waterbender.”<br/>“Oh… if only our nations depicted our loyalties. Then the war would truly be over, and in your favour.” They all turned to Hama.<br/>“You mean… you want to help us?” Sainu asked.<br/>“Your highnesses,” Chosu said. “You cannot ally yourselves with this woman. She terrorised our village for years, decades. She is too unstable. Too powerful.”<br/>“I’m a changed woman. I apologise for the pain I’ve caused you.”<br/>“That’s not enough, waterbender,” Chosu shot back. He turned to Ozai again. “Firelord, please. Do not listen to this woman.”<br/>Ozai thought on the matter. Please, Azula thought.<br/>“If the people of Hechasi Village want Hama to remain here, then she will remain here. I will respect these people’s wishes.”<br/>Azula’s heart sank. She nodded.<br/>“Firelord… perhaps if the villagers did not know,” Sheka replied softly. They all turned to him. He gestured vaguely at Hama. “We can’t take her with us. And we can’t stay to care for her. We’d be leaving her to a slow death if we left her. But…” he faced Azula. “If she went with you… she could teach you whatever you wanted to learn from her.”<br/>“We cannot allow that!” Chosu protested. “When we meet again, and we will, the villagers will recognise her. It would be an injustice to them!”<br/>“Most of the villagers who remember her have left or passed on. A lot of the villagers were at the war… a lot were just kids. They would recognise her looking like this…” he pointed to her straight jacket and bent over figure. “But if she looked… more presentable… and it wasn’t known to them she had left… they may just gloss over her.”<br/>Chosu looked over at Ozai, who shrugged. “Leaders… this is your call.”<br/>Sheka and Chosu entered a staring contest, and Azul had to smile. Ah yes, the favoured way of winning arguments. Silent glaring.<br/>Finally, Chosu back down. “Fine. But I don’t want to have to deal with her when she goes insane.” He stalked out of the prison.<br/>Sheka turned back to them. “Thank you,” Azula said. Sheka shrugged.<br/>“I reckoned two firebenders would be able to deal with her. And it wouldn’t be… civilised of us to leave her to die.”<br/>Ozai nodded. “Let’s go and continue preparations.” The men left the cell as Azula began to remove Hama’s straight jacket.<br/>Sainu entered the cell. “Hama… What can you teach us? I mean… You’re a waterbender.”<br/>“I am,” her voice sounded raspy but fluid, like a tired river scraping on its banks. “But you’ve got to keep an open mind, girl. You are not limited to the styles of the element you bend.”<br/>Azula stood up, heaving the woman’s body up with her, though she was surprisingly light. In her experience, old women were always heavy.<br/>Sainu raced to help and soon they were out of the cell. Azula pointed. “Let’s go out that door. We don’t want to villagers to see, whatever Sheka says.” The two others nodded and, hobbling along the floorboards, Sainu held open the door for them and they walked into the sunshine.<br/>Hama lifted her face. “Ah. I have not felt the sun on my face in a long time.” She could walk on her own now. She faced the girls, and Azula had to admit there was something regal about her posture as she stood. Her blue eyes sparkled in the light.<br/>“Thank you, Azula. I will teach you what I know about bending. I swear it.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Ideas in Soot</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>ok so now there are italics because like an idiot i didn't realise that you could use rich text</p><p>smh why do i hurt myself so</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Looks like any other kind of graffiti to me,” Zuko said. “Except that it’s… you know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> symbol.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki gazed up at the graffiti - well, it was more of a mark. The symbol had been burnt into the wall, and not just for effect. Normal graffiti involved paint, which could be washed away or the surface could be repainted, but a burn mark… </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> weakened the structure of the wall. One couldn’t just paint over it or cover it up with a couple of boards - you had to replace the whole section of the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko turned to Sokka. “How many people were here? How many know about this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shrugged. “I don’t know… maybe… forty? Fifty?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t count?” Suki asked. That was strange - Sokka’s mind seemed to work so fast that he usually could get a headcount of a crowd while thinking about why they were there, how quickly a message of the disturbance would spread, how to quell it and another completely different project altogether.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka frowned. “Guess I got distracted,” he repeated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko groaned. “So for all we know, this could have been done by anyone in the city, and everyone now knows.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was kind of a given,” Sokka said. Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s true. There was a big crowd here and of course everyone in the crowd was going to go on and tell other people in the city. It’s your father’s symbol, not some random party trick that’s interesting for about two seconds before you figure it out and move on with your life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko sighed. “I guess you’re right.” He turned to one of the first lieutenants standing by. “Keep the perimeter around this area until we can get rid of this. Try and keep people out of this area, but you can let residents of this complex in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Firelord.” The officer moved off, and the three began to walk back to the palace. A couple of guards followed a few meters behind them, but they all knew it was for show. The three of them had grown into quite the fighting trio after they broke in and out of the Boiling Rock, and it was unlikely that they would be attacked at the heart of the Capitol. But still, weird times, Suki supposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was getting pretty late. It was almost a full moon, and although Sokka wasn’t a waterbender, he still smiled every time he looked up. Suki had learned of Yue partly through the horrid play they had watched of their adventures (a play Sokka had actually gone back to rewatch, offer advice and provide funding for their theatre group - funding which he didn’t actually have, but somehow found a way to pay it off), and through Katara, when they had had a girls night out in Ba Sing Se. It had been a full moon then and, after quite a few drinks when they were both thoroughly wasted, Katara had told her of Yue, while they sat on a random roof in the Lower Ring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That had been a night to remember, they had vowed. Unfortunately, the next morning they didn’t remember much of it at all - the only thing the night had given them in return was a pair of terrible hangovers and the stench of vomit and alcohol all through their clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, how was your morning with Kiyi? Before you found the symbol?” Zuko asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty good. She was doing some firebending training, and then we went to the turtleduck pond because we wanted to, and then her teacher found us and we had to go back and do some more training, then we had a recess break and we went exploring the palace. We found a little tunnel that apparently leads out to the cliffside on the outside of the city, I don’t actually know, I didn’t go through it but Kiyi did and she said it was awesome! And then we went back and we were almost an hour late and the teacher wasn’t there anymore so she just did some sequences and then -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold up,” Zuko said. “You do realise that Master Ya resigned today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did she?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Sokka, and I think I know why. Kiyi’s meant to be training, not running around with you around the city!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s seven! She’s having fun!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, don’t pull that on me. Earlier you were saying how she ‘needs to get out and start learning leadership and responsibility’, but you’ve been taking her away from her training -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she does need to learn how to run a nation,” Sokka interrupted. “But you didn’t spend all your childhood preparing to be Firelord! You were running around and having fun, which is what Kiyi needs!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t having </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s your own fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you have fun as a kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! I used to go exploring caves and stuff when I was, like, five, and it was great!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about when you were Kiyi’s age? She’s seven.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, there were more Fire Nation raids when I was seven.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would there be more raids? Surely there would be more when you were younger, because there would have been less things to raid later on?” Suki asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… no idea. All I know is that the older I got, the more I fought them off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then there could have been an equal amount of raids, you just weren’t as involved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, no. I remember the other raids, because I had to sit in the tent and I couldn’t go out and explore and it was so boring.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A slight warm breeze began to blow through the street. Suki barely noticed it at first - it just tickled her hair and played with Zuko’s Firelord cape, but then it built right up, practically blowing them backwards with its heat before it went away again. The street darkened as the fire lamps were extinguished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Suki said as Zuko summoned a small fire. “That was weird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really. It happens all the time. No one knows why, but a lot of people think it’s because we’re on a volcano, and it keeps blowing out steam every so often.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you built your Capitol on a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>volcano</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep. Tell me about it,” Zuko scowled. He sent balls of fire into each of the lamp posts again, relighting the street. “Every time it happens, we have to relight the whole city. It sucks.” He turned around and the three kept walking up the hill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So anyway, you went exploring? Find anything interesting?” Zuko asked Sokka. Sokka said nothing, still frowning at the lamp posts. Zuko glanced at Suki, then waved a hand in front of his friend’s face. “Hey! Earth to Sokka.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Yes, hi. What were you saying, sorry?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“When you were exploring. Did you find anything -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you just encase the fires in the lamps?” Sokka interrupted.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The lamp posts. If they keep getting blown out, why not just get a whole load of glass and surround the flame with it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko blinked. “Well… fire needs oxygen to survive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So leave a small hole at the top of the case. The fire gets oxygen, but it doesn’t get blown out by the winds. Or… you could use lightning in your lamps. That won’t get blown out by the wind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we don’t know how to keep the lightning on. And besides, it gives off a white blue light which totally does not fit our aesthetic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could you… idk…” Sokka waved his hand vaguely. “Colour the glass?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… I don’t think so. No one’s tried.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome. I’m going to try that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s another thing. Where would you get the glass? You need to heat up sand for that, and on a lot of our islands, that’s a massive part of the environment that we need to keep there. We can’t just steal all the sand to make fancy glass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No available sand, huh?” Sokka smiled. “What about the Si Wong Desert?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“That’s Earth Kingdom. We’d have to open a whole trade route and they would probably not want it because the ‘Fire Nation has to pay for their actions’ and even if they did allow it, what would we trade? Our treasuries are dying, our people are starving… our main export is military based, and since the war is over, no money is getting to the factory workers which means they’re all going over to my father and …” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Zuko spoke, the rant became faster and faster until words were just pouring out of his mouth; he slowed the group until he just stood there in the street, ranting. Suki turned to the guards, who were standing a few feet away. They were unable to hear what he was saying, but she could still sense their unease. She smiled at them, then motioned for them to retreat and give them some privacy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka put an arm around Zuko. “Hey,” he said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... in the colonies and whatever the Water Tribes trade with us is just not enough to support our entire nation and -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Sokka grabbed Zuko by the shoulders and shook him, hard. Suki immediately lashed out her hand and pulled Sokka off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guards behind her began to come back up the street. She pushed Sokka away and then turned to the guards. “Wait. It’s alright, there’s no cause for alarm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief… he just attacked the Firelord,” the first guard nodded at Sokka. The second, older, guard nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He needs to be taken into custody.” They both settled into firebending stances. Sokka immediately went into a fighting stance too - one influenced by the Fire Nation, it seemed, which was strange. Suki didn’t think he’d ever fought with a lot of non-bending Fire Nation soldiers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t attack him -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, technically you did,” Suki interrupted. “But there really is no cause for alarm,” she spoke to the guards. “There is no need to place Sokka under arrest. Please, return to the palace and make sure that we are not disturbed. Do not tell anyone of what has happened here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Soldiers, that is an order.” Zuko spoke up. The guards immediately snapped to attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Firelord,” they chorused, and began to jog back to the palace. They did, however, glance cautiously at Sokka while they left. Suki frowned; she would have to check up on them later, it would seem. She turned back to Sokka, who now had an arm around Zuko again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You idiot!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Sokka hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t just attack Zuko in front of his guards! What were you thinking?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t attacking him, I was shaking him. There’s a difference.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They don’t know that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys,” Zuko’s voice cut clear through them. They turned to look at him. “Just… stop. We just need… I don’t know. Rest, I guess. Then we’ll sort stuff out tomorrow?” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, Zuko?” Sokka asked. “When did you last sleep?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you last eat?” Suki followed with. Zuko looked between the two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like… today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Liar,” they both chorused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Ok, guys… I’ve been a little stressed, ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When. Did. You. Last. Sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... A couple of days ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about eating?” Suki asked as Sokka groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… a bit more recently?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, Zuko? Enough.” Sokka commanded. He threw his arm around Zuko again and began to drag him back to the palace. “You are going to bed, and tomorrow, Iroh and the other Kyoshi are arriving. And tomorrow, you are going to do nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Zuko pushed back from Sokka, only to be grabbed by Suki as they continued to half-support, half-drag their friend back up the hill. “No, my father has just escaped and is gathering support, I can’t do </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you can. That’s an order.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko glared at Sokka. “You can’t order me around. I’m the Firelord.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m not a Fire Nation citizen. I’m from the Southern Water Tribe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m from Kyoshi Island. You don’t hold sway in either of those places,” Suki added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suki… I’m literally your boss,” Zuko said apologetically.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but you see, my job is to keep you alive,” she countered. “So if you are being a threat to yourself, then I’m the boss until we sort you out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not how this relationship works,” Zuko groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Sokka had threatened to knock Zuko out, he had finally agreed to staying in his room and resting. Suki had snuck into the kitchens and grabbed some food, and after they had eaten an unhealthy amount of fireflakes and fire-gummies, she and Sokka said goodnight to Zuko and left him to his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked back up to their suites together in silence. The hallways were empty, with guards only stationed at the points of entry and at major arches and corridors within the palace. Not at the windows, but they were bolted anyway, and the guards were close enough that they would hear one being broken and could apprehend the intruder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moon shone through the windows, casting delicate shadows across the boards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what Zuko’s going on about aesthetics, but this white light looks great,” Sokka grumbled. Suki smiled, leaning into him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A warm yellow light would look better, though. It would match the rest of their theme. Moonlight works in the water tribes, but not really on the gold and bronze the Fire Nation has.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka sighed. “I know. But it is pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very pretty. But the fire lamps just look… comforting, somehow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka acknowledged this. “True… but we could always just tinge the glass the right colour. Lightning seems more… sustainable than having the fires. And the fire lamps make smoke, which takes away from the whole vibe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we still don’t know how to keep lightning going without a bender constantly adding to it, so…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, actually… maybe we could trap it? It’s just energy - we could insulate it somehow. Maybe…” Sokka’s voice drifted off as he thought. Suki didn’t interrupt, so they walked in silence for the rest of the journey. Every now and then, his face would change from ‘Idea’ mode to ‘Confusion’ mode to ‘Damn’ mode to ‘That actually might work’ mode.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time they reached their suite, he was on ‘Idea’ mode. “I need to write this down,” he said as Suki opened the door. He pushed past her and rushed to the desk, grabbing a parchment, some ink and a pen. Suki laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t stay up too late,” she said. “I don’t want to have to deal with two sleep deprived boys in the morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka waved a hand in vague agreement and Suki slipped into her room, chuckling. She was willing to bet good money that she’d find him tomorrow still at the desk, probably fast asleep. She quickly changed and climbed into bed, listening to the muffled sounds of Sokka pacing around the room, racing back to his desk every time he thought of something new. A while later, she had fallen asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suki woke up to the warm sun on her face and a cold bed next to her. She groaned, rubbing the dust out of her eyes, squinting at the sheets. They lay untouched as she had left them. She rolled her eyes, and crawled out of bed, yawning and stretching her way to the door. On the back hook, her robe was hanging next to Sokka’s. She shrugged it on and opened the door to the living room of the suite.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka was sitting cross legged on the back wall of the couch, shirt unbuttoned and with a massive cup of tea in his hands. He was staring wide-eyed at his desk while he drank. Suki walked over quickly and took the tea from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he whined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nu-uh,” she said. “Off the back of the couch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grumbling, he slid down, squashing the cushions as he went, finally landing on the couch in a heap. He reached out for the tea. Suki gave it to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get any sleep last night?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sleep is for the weak,” Sokka whispered. Suki glared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evidently not.” She turned and approached his desk. It was overflowing with drawings, notes, diagrams and doodles. She picked one of the doodles up - it was a picture of Momo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, your one true love,” Suki grinned. She picked up the brush and drew a small black heart next to it. Sokka stumbled over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No… that’s Momo. My friend,” he snatched the picture away and held it to the light. “My best friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko and Aang are offended.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither are here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One is here,” a voice spoke from the doorway. They turned to see Zuko leaning against the frame. He looked so much better than the previous night; the bags under his eyes were far smaller, he looked happier and was nursing a small cup of tea. “And one is offended. But one forgives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka beamed at him, then staggered over to the couch and fell onto the cushions, spilling his tea all over himself. He yelped, and Suki snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was your own fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was mean,” Sokka pouted, flinging hot water from his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko had neared the desk, and now he too pored over the notes Sokka had made. “Sokka… these are really good.” He held one up - an exact map of the Capitol, with little lines connecting each of the buildings to each other. “What is this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked over blearily. “Oh… that’s just an idea. Forget that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are more maps for Republic City and… um…” Suki held up the third map. She didn’t recognise it at all, but Sokka had scribbled the name down in a small corner. “Niapao?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Sokka was next to them. “No, no, that’s… that’s nothing.” He grabbed the sheets from them. “This is just an idea. Probably wouldn’t work. I’d have to talk to Iroh about lightning. Speaking of Iroh!” He threw his arms around them and began to march them to the door. “They are arriving in… um…” he looked out the window. “Um… thirty minutes! Thirty minutes, guys, so we need to be down there -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka!” Suki slid out from under his arm. “I need to get dressed. You need to get dressed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Right! Um…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll leave you to it,” Zuko smiled. “See you down there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, ok, see you Zuko!” Suki said. Sokka waved goodbye before they both ran into the bedroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka flung open the closet. “Ok! So… important delegation… well, by Fire Nation standards, so…” he began to shift and sort through his massive amount of clothes that hung on a bar, before finally finding an outfit he liked. “This is good! Actually… hm…” he pondered his clothes. “Should I wear a wave motif or a moon motif or a more Earth Kingdom style of clothing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Suki said. “If you’re going to take forever, can I get my stuff?” Sokka looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Yeah, sure,” he scrambled out of the way as Suki grabbed her casual Kyoshi garb. This uniform didn’t require the makeup, which was lucky, as she didn’t have time for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” She hurried over to the bed and quickly changed, flinging her robe onto the hook and shoving her pajamas under the bed. She would never be able to find them later, but that seemed like a problem for future Suki.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned around to find Sokka, an outfit in each hand, lifting up one of the outfits in front of the mirror, then lifting the other one up. “Waves or Earth Kingdom based… Waves or Earth Kingdom based… Hey Suki!” He raised his voice, turning to her. “Waves or Earth Kingdom?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… waves?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I was thinking that, but the Earth Kingdom one is -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka! We’re already running late.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yeah, true.” He slotted the Earth Kingdom based outfit back into the closet and quickly changed. He checked himself out in the mirror once he was done; the ‘wave’ outfit had a simple pair of blue trousers, coupled with his brown boots, with a decorated vest that left his arms bare, except for a band he had quickly slipped on his right arm. It was decorated with a pattern of waves, the same that adorned the hem of his shirt.. “Oooh, yeah, good choice -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on!” Suki grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yep, sorry.” He quickly righted himself as they stepped out. He looked down at her and smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look great!” He leaned in for a kiss. She pecked him lightly, then grabbed his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on,” she laughed at his surprised face. “I’ll give you a proper kiss later, but we need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>move</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can do that,” Sokka said as they began to run towards the quay.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Aww and Order</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So you want me to basically force everyone to follow the law. I believe that’s called ‘oppression’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph smiled as Minister Li’s blood pressure rose a tad higher. She heard the gentle thud of his hand connecting with his forehead and she chuckled a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang’s blood pressure also rose a little as well. Good. Gotta keep them on their toes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss Beifong -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toph. Just call me Toph.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minister Li sighed. “Toph, it is not the oppression of the citizens we want. It is order and stability, and we believe that your… unique abilities will be of some use.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean metalbending.” Toph spat onto the ground in front of her. Minister Li shifted a little away from the splatter. “It’s not unique,” she continued as she swung back on her chair. “I’ve been running a school, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But that’s just it,” Minister Li replied, his heart rate increasing. Toph felt his weight shift back towards her direction; the creak of his chair told her he was leaning forward. “You’ve taught so many to bend metal, and we, by which I mean Firelord Zuko and I, have realised the potential you all have. Imagine, if you will,” he paused. Took a breath. Continued, “You leading squadrons of metalbenders through the streets of Republic City. Crime rates would go down, order would be created, you would be seen as a hero! Your legacy -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if I don’t want a legacy?” Toph said. Minister Li’s heart skipped a beat. Ha, gotcha, Toph thought. But then he laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toph, you have already created a legacy. The first metalbender the world has ever seen! I… Avatar Aang, could you…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Twinkletoes’ weight shifted towards her. “Toph, think about this. This could be your break! I mean… you’ve been wondering what to do here ever since we founded this city, and leading a police force… this would be great for you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sniffed. It would be cool to run around, enforcing laws and shit, she admitted to herself. And, better yet, she might be able to avoid obeying these laws herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minister Li and Twinkletoes’ heart rates increased a couple of beats at her sniff. She lowered her feet down to the ground to get a better view. The two were leaning towards her. Their heart rates were faster than the norm, as were their blood pressures. A desk, a board, a few chairs scattered the room. Outside the room, Katara was leaning on the wall. Toph could feel her impatience - she and Twinkletoes were going on a date soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, we wouldn’t want to keep Sugar Queen waiting, Toph thought with a smile. “Alright. Do I get a base?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both their heart rates increased, and then they both relaxed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Finally</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The constant drumming of their heartbeats, the almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>boiling</span>
  </em>
  <span> of their blood -  it had been getting on her nerves. “Um… yes, well… you’ll be the head of police. The police will have a headquarters, which we’ve planned to be here.” Li’s finger landed on the board. He looked back. “Is this a good location… uh… what would you want your title to be? As head of police?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph swung back on her chair again. “Huh. Hadn’t thought of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to think of it. The official opening of the city’s not for a month.” Twinkletoes breathed in and out. “What about the location?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’m sure it’s great, but I don’t think I would be the best judge of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Minister Li sounded absolutely baffled, while a silent ‘oh’ escaped Twinkletoes’ lips. She smiled at the minister.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea where you’re pointing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? But it’s right here - oh… Right. Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No worries.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s in the downtown area. Two blocks south from the City Hall.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. That’s good.” Toph picked a small rock from between her fingernails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that everything?” Aang asked. His heart rate was a little higher: he was thinking of Katara, no doubt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li hesitated. “Well, I mean… there are so many details to sort out, but they’re for Toph to sort through with myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. I’m sorry, I’m going to have to excuse myself,” Aang said. A long pause. No doubt they were doing silly bows and other pointless gestures.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for joining us, Avatar Aang,” Li said, and Aang walked out. Toph heard the door shut and felt Twinkletoes and Katara kiss against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, she really needed to learn to shut off her senses sometimes. She gestured for Li to continue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Toph… how many squadrons would you be able to provide us by the time Republic City is opened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li sighed. “How many benders in your school are currently enrolled?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“43.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How far through are they in their training?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… 13 just came in... around 6 are about to graduate and the rest are kind of vibing. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I was hoping that when they graduate from your school, they would join the police.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph flicked another rock from her nails. “Yeah. If they wanted to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Well… I was hoping you would offer it to them… as a job after their training.” His heart rate increased a little. Toph chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re worried.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No - why would I be worried?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heart rate was definitely higher now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… first, that was a lie. Second, because you don’t think enough people will want to be police officers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minister Li stuttered for a moment. “Well… I suppose… I - usually there’s around four in a squadron, and if only seven metalbenders, including yourself, would be working by the time the City opens, we… may have a problem on our hands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! That’s another thing. Can I do my school and be head of police at the same time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toph… That would be too much. You’d have to commit to this.” Toph groaned, and Li hastened to add, “Could someone else run your school?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph thought for a moment. “Maybe… if they didn’t want to become a police officer. Also, I don’t just want metalbenders. I want all kinds of benders. And non-benders. Anyone who wants to, really. If I just enrol benders, then the non-benders will get pissed, and we won’t be able to infiltrate non-bender meetings and things as easily.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li’s breathing went a little more even as he thought over this. “So… how many squadrons could we have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Depends. A month? Maybe three. Don’t count on that. I’ll have at least one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… that’s a start, I suppose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and I want to be the Lord of Police.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s the best title for you, Toph. How about… general? Or chief? Or admiral -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Toph smiled as she leaned back further in her chair. Minister Li’s blood pressure and heart rate rose again. “I want to be a Lord.” The minister was practically shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Toph. You cannot be the Lord of Police. Chief is the most common title, why don’t you use that -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am now the Lord of Police.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lord Toph… Lord </span>
  <em>
    <span>Beifong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Toph Beifong, the Lord of Police. Yes, I like that very much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minister Li began to cry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katara was leaning against the wall when Aang left the meeting. She looked up as he approached and smiled. It lit her entire face up, little lights bobbing in her sea blue eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sweetie,” she smiled, pecking him on the lips. Her own were soft, as always, and when she pulled away, a smile playing on them, Aang smiled back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sweetie.” He took her hand in his own. “How was your day?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara sighed, leaning against his shoulder as they walked out of the City Hall. “It was ok. A whole pile of messages from Ba Sing Se, Omashu, the Northern and Southern Water Tribes… all about Ozai’s escape. The one relief I got was Due from the Swamp.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Due! Love that man. What has he got to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tho’s birthday is coming up. They were wondering if we wanted to come to the swamp to celebrate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although it was close to three thirty, the sun had begun to set on Republic City. According to Teo’s dad, it was because it was winter, and so the sun set earlier. The rays glinted gently off the buildings and glass, casting long shadows that dropped the space around them by a few degrees when they walked through. Aang smiled as Katara went on about more Earth Kingdom officials being assholes, and how there were some Fire Nation ministers that could really learn when to shut their mouths, how she almost forgot that ‘not murdering people’ was a law… how the sunset sparked little icicle-shaped lights in her eyes while streams of gold danced in her hair. How her hands moved with her every word, fingers pointed right down to her nails with every gesture, how she could talk so fast and furiously but still enunciate every word perfectly…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How as he looked more and more at her, he loved her more and more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Aang?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” He shook his head, then looked around. They had reached the top of one of the larger hills, standing just in front of a massive crowd surrounding one man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara smiled up at him. “Come on. They run out of the fish noodles so quickly here, and I want seconds.” She clasped his hand more tightly and practically dragged him through. Much of the crowd were already seated, eating their noodles and talking with friends and family, so Katara and Aang just picked their way through the many towards the centre. As they neared, the stance of the crowd changed from ‘seated’ to ‘standing’, and so they joined the queue and waited, moving slowly forward and closer to the noodles until at last, they were standing in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aang!” Guru Pathik grinned. He leapt over his cart of noodles and collided with him, but Aang barely stumbled back. The guru was no body builder, and Aang was a lot bigger now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guru Pathik! How are things?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They are very good! I am giving out so many noodles! Business is great!” He jumped back over his cart again and slapped his hands together. “Now! What can I get you? Ah, Katara! The usual, I suppose?” He grabbed the ladle and dished out a chunk of soupy noodles and fish into a bowl. Katara smiled, accepting the bowl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Guru Pathik.” She reached into a small pouch on her belt, but the guru held up a hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Katara. What do I always say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed. “No earthly possessions, I know. But you do need </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> money to pay for all of these noodles you’re getting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pathik shook his head. “No no - I am given the ingredients I need by many of my regular customers, which includes your and your father and brother’s supply of fish. I do not need anything else, just your thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara sighed again, smiling. “Alright. But whenever you need anything, just say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need anything, Katara. I’m nomadic like that.” He turned to Aang. “Now… noodles and tofu?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds great!” Aang grinned, accepting the bowl as the guru gave it to him. Guru Pathik raised a hand in farewell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you another time!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Definitely,” they chorused. They clasped hands again, and the guru rolled his eyes,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get a room,” he muttered before engaging with the next customer. Aang smiled down at Katara, and they walked through the crowd again to find a spot to eat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toph was strolling around the campus of her school, weaving through tent after tent. The campus was being overwhelmed. A few months ago, Ho Tun and The Dark One had gone off in search of metalbenders, sending a few back on the way, but this…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had just returned from Ba Sing Se, and had brought back </span>
  <em>
    <span>dozens</span>
  </em>
  <span> of earthbenders with the potential. That was great; the more the merrier, but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had nowhere to house them all. The Academy had been struggling to house the 30 they had already, and the first tent had been erected after 13 had been sent by Ho Tun and The Dark One from Omashu. And now…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>119 students. All packed into the building or the clearing around. The only spaces that weren’t occupied by tents and beds were the inner hall and the outer quad; both training spaces for the benders. Toph slammed her foot against the ground, sending vibrations through the rocks and stones. Many of the new arrivals were in their tents, sorting through their luggage; a few of the students weren’t on campus: likely they had gone into Yu Dao for dinner. That was the deal at the academy at the moment. They didn’t have the resources to provide food for so many people, so the students had brought their own riches to help keep the school going.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph hated having to rely on the students for funding, but unfortunately she was now a ‘respected member of society’. She couldn’t go around stealing anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, that’s what the others in Team Avatar told her, anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were around eight students in the outer quad, but there might have been more. They were jumping around the place, bending earth and metal around them. Toph frowned, lifting the earth beneath her and zoomed between the tents on the rock, trying as best she could not to disturb the tents. She couldn’t really sense them on the floating rock, but she could always hope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She landed on the steps that lead to the Academy, walking up them, passing through the inner hall until she arrived at the outer quad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ho Tun, The Dark One and Penga were there, leading five more students through a few exercises. They were all about to graduate from the school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph still believed that no one, not even her, would graduate from </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> school. Metal was so… weird. It had so many components, so much potential. It was awesome and intimidating at the same time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like their teacher, Ho Tun had once said. Toph had liked that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now it seemed she wouldn’t be here much longer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She called out, “Hey there, whatcha doing?” She felt the bending stop, all eight bender’s heart rates jump, then settle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Toph!” Penga said. “We’re, um… training.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s after hours. Y’all should go get something to eat,” she replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have!” Hani, her fifth student to come to the academy, assured her. “We’re just practising for, you know… the finals.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They aren’t for another week. You’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where have you been?” Ho Tun said. “You seem… almost encouraging. Are you ok?” Toph laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, I’m just… um…” she hesitated. “Ho Tun, come over for a sec. You guys,” she waved her hand around. She didn’t know how they’d interpret it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t even know. “Keep training.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked into the inner hall, Ho Tun hurrying to catch up. His heart rate was a tad faster than usual, and he stopped a few feet away. She turned around to face him and sat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… Toph? Are you ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did. Toph bent a small rock out of the ground and played with it for a few seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me - what are you going to do after this lot has graduated?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart jumped over a few beats. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like, you know… you’ve graduated, but you stayed on at the academy to help out. Do you want to stay on after this lot has graduated or do you have other plans…” His heart was racing now. She smiled at him. “It’s not a trick question or anything. I was just wondering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… I’d never thought about it before - well, I have, but…” he swallowed. “Could I stay here? Teaching metalbenders with you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank fuck, I was hoping you say that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph sighed. “Well… I’ve been offered a job in Republic City. Head of Police. I’ve… accepted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toph… That’s so cool!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s great, but… what about the academy? Will you do both?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph sighed. “I asked, but… I can only do one or the other and… I love the academy, but it seems my teaching style is a bit… specific. I’m headstrong and stubborn and - oh don’t be surprised, you know I’m right!” she snapped as his heart rate rose again. “Look… I wanted to hand it over to someone who I could trust could continue it. And as you’re willing… it’s yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ho Tun was silent, then, “Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great. I’m staying till this lot has graduated, and then I’ll be in Republic City. I’ll visit, obviously. You can’t get rid of me that easily. And I want to offer the police force as a job opportunity for these metalbenders after their training. I feel like it’s either this, staying behind to run the academy or a factory somewhere, and the police force seems the most fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ho Tun nodded. “I’ll keep them going, don't you worry, Toph. You’ll be a great Head of Police… Chief of Police?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lord</span>
  </em>
  <span> of Police to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katara slurped up the noodles, fish and soup disappearing way too fast. She sighed as she stared at her bowl, now half empty. She could have sworn they had only sat down a couple of seconds ago, and now she only had a little left! This was an abomination.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She picked up another roll of noodles with her chopsticks, twirling them around slowly as she looked around. Aang had, as always, picked an interesting spot to eat: perched on top of a massive tree in the middle of a nearby park.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that it was a bad spot. On the contrary, the view was spectacular. The whole of Republic City stretched lazily out around them, basking in the sunset. It was just… not a place that she would have immediately picked for a romantic dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang was sitting on a different branch (“our combined weights will not be supported by this branch, sweetie, go sit on that one!”), a little higher than her own. She looked over at him, to find him staring at her, a small smile on his lips. She smiled, confused. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aang, that’s twice today,” she laughed. “What’s wrong? Do I have something in my teeth -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing’s wrong!” Aang hurried to say. Katara raised an eyebrow, so he continued, “Nothing’s wrong, it’s just…” his entire face flushed red. “You look really beautiful in the sunset.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara laughed. “Aang, that’s so sweet!” Aang grinned, looking a little abashed. She stood up on her branch, having to go up on her toes to reach him, and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey… you’re allowed to be sweet. That’s kind of in the job description, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” he set down his noodles on the branch next to him. They wobbled </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> precariously, looking ready to fall at any moment. Aang wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s not in </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> job description to be the most incredible and amazing person I’ve ever met, but here you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara’s mouth formed a small ‘oh’, then she smiled and kissed him: a proper one, one that seemed to last a lifetime, but when they broke apart, it felt like they had eternity still left to go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang’s hands tightened, and then she was yanked off her branch as he lifted her into his lap. She yelped, and he laughed. He set her down in his lap, his grey eyes twinkling with love and mirth. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling every muscle, every nook in his back before she gave him a surprise of her own; she slammed her lips to his, not letting go of him, wrapping herself tighter around him, until the world had shrunk to just </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and nothing could stop them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the branch broke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> They plummeted through the sky, tumbling and tangling together as they fell. Katara screamed as the ground came closer, screamed more when the noodles plastered themselves over the tree, now food for the birds and the animals. Aang summoned the winds to slow their fall, but he couldn’t fly without his glider, and they had picked up so much speed. They slammed into branches as they thickened and thinned, and then a branch broke them apart and she slammed into the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara groaned, blinking lights out of her eyes. Something scrambled around next to her, then Aang was kneeling over her, his face slashed apart with worry. “Katara! Are you ok? Fuck, I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span> -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara began to laugh. It started small, but then she just couldn’t stop. It came in waves and rolls, she rolled on her side and then she was falling again, but it was slower and more bumpy; she was rolling and tumbling down a hill. A hoot left her mouth as she kept going down and down, and then Aang was there, tumbling and laughing alongside her, slamming into her and they finally rolled to a stop at the bottom of the hill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang groaned beneath her, and Katara raised herself up, propping herself on her elbows. He smiled up at her amid the grass and dirt. She stroked his face. “Aw sweetie… that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally</span>
  </em>
  <span> your fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My fault? You were being too damn cute, so if anything -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up.” She kissed him. When she broke it off, he raised himself up for another one, a decidedly longer one this time. They broke apart again, the sun setting behind him now. It made him look like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>glowing</span>
  </em>
  <span> with a warm orange and pink light. Katara pushed herself up off the ground till she was standing. She extended an arm, which Aang took. They looked up the hill, at the swathes of trampled grass and the littering of so many branches. Aang raised an eyebrow at the mess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The park management guys are </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to hate this,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no they won’t,” Katara protested. “It’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>park</span>
  </em>
  <span>, what did they think was going to happen?” Aang rolled his eyes, squeezing her hand tight and together they walked out of the park.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Undercurrents of Tension</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I'm sorry this is kind of late even tho i don't actually have a posting schedule<br/>anyways I was procrasitinating<br/>here it is</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The moonlight rippled gently through the water as their boat slowly approached the cove. Aiki and Ozai were rowing in; the wind was down and they were the strongest in the group, so they heaved the boat through the waters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai had chosen this cove because it faced the way they had come; from a small island just off the coast of Capitol Island. The bay also offered a clear view to another island: Ma'inka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That island was uninhabited as a general rule, due to the destructive tendencies of its volcanoes, but the last eruption hadn't been for over hundred </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that was good enough for Ozai.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The beach was almost upon them, the moonlight dancing along the foam of the waves as they crashed down onto the sand. Aiki, Sainu and Azula leapt out of the boat and steadied it for Hama.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised her hands, elegant yet… deprived. Veins and bone curled around her fingers as she moved the water around them. She seemed to be doing her job with a bit more flair than what was required, but she hadn't been able to bend for over three years. She deserved a bit of fun with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai knew how the </span>
  <em>
    <span>absence</span>
  </em>
  <span> of bending felt. It had been an integral part of him before that child had seen fit to steal it. In the days that had followed, Ozai had wished the airbender had killed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not now. Now he saw his past power with… almost regret. Not that he regretted any of his actions, but that he hadn't accomplished more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it didn't matter. Now, they were on track to creating the greatest age for the Fire Nation history had seen. A new world, one without his brother or his son…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well… a world without Ursa's bastard, anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama continued to bend the water and at last, the boat touched down onto the sand. He helped Hama out of the boat; she didn’t need it, but it was Fire Nation etiquette and well, old habits die hard. They walked up the beach while the three kids shored the boat and followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai looked around the beach. Again, it was perfect for what he had in mind: a complete trading and military naval base. It stretched on for a half a mile or so in both directions, backed by cliffs to the north and forests to the south that were just waiting to be lumbered. The cliffs presented a number of small caves that they began to make their way towards in order to set up camp, but even with the beach’s surroundings, there was only one way onto the beach: a rough track that slowly trailed up to Lira Town, the second biggest of the four towns on the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Creeping through the forest was one way to get to the beach, but it was more likely to feed you to the wild beasts that roamed the terrain or, if you were superstitious, the spirits as well. The cliffs were impossible to climb from a mere glance, and as Ozai got closer, he realised how right he was. Yes, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> scale these cliffs, but it would take a team, and a lot of equipment, a feat that would be seen long before they reached the sand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All in all, Ozai was very proud of himself for finding this beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached the cliffs in a matter of minutes, having left the boat beached on the sand. Hama would be able to help them make a quick getaway if it came to it, but Ozai was fairly confident in gaining these four towns’ assistance. It would just take a bit of strategy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And luck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki ran ahead, ducking into each of the caves quickly before leaning precariously out of one and beckoning them over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cave he had found had a narrow entryway, but quickly opened up into a wide cavern. No tunnels lead further into the rock, and the small divots that were there could be used as shelves or even bed bases.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki turned to him. “What do you think?” he asked, although Ozai sensed the bit of pride in his voice. Aiki knew the cave was ideal, he was just being polite, allowing Ozai to take the credit for the cave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai knew he liked him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s great, Aiki. Well done.” Aiki smiled, and began to unload some of the equipment. Azula and Sainu laid out their own bags on the far side of the cave, as they usually did. Hama took another corner; the same one as where all the food was stored, as she was undoubtedly the best cook in the group, Azula and Ozai having grown up with servants and Aiki being more of a fisher and a hunter. Sainu, by normal customs, should have learned the basics of a kitchen, but her firebending abilities meant that she had been a little revered by her town, and although she knew how to make an excellent fish stew, that was the extent of her cooking. Hama had a few more recipes up her sleeve.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki and Ozai laid their own mats next to the cavern wall closest to the exit, and then they all congregated in the middle while Hama began to prepare some food for them. She tossed a few fish Aiki had caught to the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you prepare these? A piece for each of us, and I’ll cook them in a sauce, so try to debone them as best you can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki accepted the fish, piercing each one onto a large hook as he dragged over a box and plonked himself down on it. Azula and Sainu had also brought over their makeshift seats, so Ozai grabbed a couple of boxes for himself and for Hama. She thanked him with a nod, but stayed kneeling over the noodles and vegetables.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu lit a fire, and soon the cooking pot was bubbling away, Hama throwing ingredients and spices in, sending spits of water up without a moment’s notice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now was probably the best time to outline his plan, Ozai thought. Hama and Aiki were cooking, and Azula and Sainu were… sitting very close to each other, he realised. Almost… snuggling? He dismissed it. They were friends, why wouldn’t they be close?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Azula had never been like this with the acrobat, or the knife girl. Or maybe he had just never seen…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” he began, and they all turned to him. “Now that we’re on Kosuki Island, our first point of call should be Lira Town. It’s the closest to the beach and it’s the second largest settlement on the island, so we’ll be able to get a lot of supplies and manpower from there, and I’m hoping that once Lira is on our side, Wantu and Bhilu towns will also join our cause.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Nakida City?” Sainu asked. “They still regularly communicate with the Capitol. If we leave them to last, they may contact the Firelord.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good, Ozai thought. She’s beginning to think like a strategist. Still in the early stages, he admitted, but it was a skill he could help her build upon. “Yes, but if we gain the support of the other towns first, they may be more willing to join our cause. Although my plan is to send a couple of supporters to the city to spread some… discourse. I already have a couple of agents in the Capitol doing just that. The more unease we can spread, the more people will realise that our cause is in their best interests.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The way we’ll approach Kosuki will be different to the other villages and towns we’ve visited. We can’t just walk into these towns and expect to find friends. We’ll have to go undercover first, talking to the farmers and fishermen of these towns, getting the feel for the place, before approaching town leaders. It will take a couple of weeks, I think.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Don’t the Capitol already know we’re, you know, here? I thought we had to get to Ma’inka as soon as possible,” Aiki pulled a rather long bone out of one of the fish, and held the fillet out for Hama. She plucked it from his hand with a spurt of water, bringing to her board before dousing it with a brown sauce and setting it on the side of the flames to cook.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai nodded. “Yes. We’ll have to split up. Aiki, we’ll take Wantu Town, while the girls can get Lira. Lira is closer to the beach, so you’ll have more time to train your bending.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula nodded, pulling the blanket closer to her. She must have been thinking that Sainu wouldn’t notice, which wasn’t the brightest observation. Sainu pulled the blanket to cover them equally, not saying a word while she did so. Azula sighed, snuggling closer to the other girl…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’re just friends, Ozai told himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Close friends...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Focus on the plan, he berated himself. He shook his head to clear it. “Whoever gets their town first will move onto Bhilu Town -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought we were also going to do Nakida?” Sainu asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes. Once one of the towns has come to our side, we’ll ask some of our supporters who know the city and the people to go in and gain support. That’s why we’re going to begin gaining support in the farmers and fishermen, the poorest of the townspeople, and the ones most likely to feel the exploitation the Fire Nation is going through. They’re the most likely to listen to us, and they’ll know others alike to them. That will be the easiest way to gain the island.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama chuckled as she stirred the pot. Aiki had finished the fish and was now preparing the bowls for the food. She bent a pile of noodles and vegetables, still glistening with water, into a bowl. “Many people in Nakida strongly support the Capitols interest, and Team Avatar, as they call themselves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula frowned. “How do you know that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you know. Talk, mostly. A couple of people from my town left a year ago to join a festival Nakida was having… in </span>
  <em>
    <span>honour</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the Avatar. You think those people will join our cause so easily?” She laid one of the fish fillets on top of the noodles and vegetables in the bowl, offering the plate to Sainu, who passed it to Azula, and grabbed the next bowl as Hama offered it out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula frowned. “Did you give me the smaller serving?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you did,” Azula smiled, laying her head on Sainu’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just friends, Ozai thought as he accepted his own bowl. He met Hama’s eyes as she gave it to him, her question still on her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll… just have to hope that a year of the Earth Kingdom bleeding them dry has changed their hearts. After all, they have begun to take more from our Nation over the past year. Maybe they hadn’t felt their presence before. And now they do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama shrugged, passing a bowl to Aiki before serving herself and moving to sit on the box Ozai had brought over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ozai took the first watch again. There wasn’t any need for a watch now; their cave was well in the cliff, and the narrow opening that led to the cavern wouldn’t be seen as such anyway. And, as Azula pointed out, if there was an intruder, they would hear them long before they reached them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If they reached them at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they were, technically, in enemy territory, and with the Capitol using all their resources to pinpoint their location, Ozai thought it best they keep up the habit. They could let it die once they reached Ma’inka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And besides, he liked to take the opportunity to really </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> about what they were doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What they would accomplish.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat next to the dying embers while the kids - he really had to stop calling them that, they were all practically adults - lay down in their mats and went to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, Aiki did, bless him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu and Azula chatted quietly for a while before they drifted off. Their mats were so close, they were practically both lying on one massive mat, but that didn’t seem to bother them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So why did it bother him so much?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t sleep?” a voice behind him said. He turned to find Hama lowering herself down next to him. He shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m on watch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re not going to wake any of the others up for their turn are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai hesitated, then sighed. “They’re… young. They need rest. And it’s been a bit stressful for them lately, I can tell. Being at the forefront of a revolution. It’s not easy.” Hama raised a delicately shaped eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re old. Not as old as I, but old nonetheless. You need rest as well,” she scolded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai chuckled. “If you’re so old, then why are you awake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama shrugged. “I find it easier to sleep later in the night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the distant sound of waves on the shore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you join us, Hama?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama looked at him. “I told you. The Avatar’s team and I no longer have the same interests at heart.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we definitely have different views. You… were from the Southern Water Tribe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was. I was taken by the Fire Nation during the war, as all the waterbenders were. I was the only one to escape. I used my… special skills to escape.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bloodbending.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai shook his head. “Why did you join us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The avatar took your bending away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was such a different topic that Ozai was taken aback for a few moments, but then he nodded. “Yes. He did. He didn’t have the guts to kill me, although in the first few months, this… feeling of powerlessness was worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have overcome that now. I could never.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… you joined us so he couldn’t take your bending? But you’ve painted a target on your head by joining us! Why risk it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If the avatar remembered me in my cell and decided to take my powers away, I would be helpless - powerless - to stop him. But now… yes, he will come for us. But I will be able to defend myself. Only one person has been able to resist my technique, and that was my student. Katara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The water tribe peasant,” Ozai mused, then remembered Hama was from the same tribe. “Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s quite alright. There are many peasants in my tribe, and there are many leaders. However, Katara and her brother Sokka are the children of the current Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. They are far from being peasants.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka. He was the strategist, wasn’t he?” Hama shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. He had a sword, and he was the one to figure out my powers before I showed them to his sister. Does that make him a strategist?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has a mind for battle. So I’d say… yes. He, along with a Kyoshi Warrior and the metalbender, took out my fleet of airships while I was fighting the avatar. He planned the invasion, Azula told me, as well as some other Fire Nation defeats.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dangerous, for a non-bender.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai turned to the waterbender. “You don’t think of non-benders highly?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama shrugged. “A bender can inflict more damage upon a person than a non-bender. An army of benders can inflict more damage upon a city than an army of non-benders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only if you underestimate -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But a non-bender can inflict more pain, more damage, more suffering upon a kingdom, an empire, a nation, then a bender could. Look at your work now. Look at the work of the Earth Kingdom monarchs, although they lost power during the war. Look at the pirate crews who used to ravage the naval trading routes, leaving cities and towns to starve out the winters.” She looked at him, her blue eyes sharper than icicles despite the embers of fire next to them, and then she stood, beginning to head over to her bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned back after a few steps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would never underestimate a non-bender. Be careful you don’t either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two days later, Ozai and Aiki landed on the shores of a small cove on the other side of Kosuki Island. The cove was sheltered by massive cliffs that somehow did not block out the sun. Plants, trees, moss, animals… they were all here in this little passageway. The sun glinting off the water, sparkling white circles of light between the waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Ozai,” Aiki said as he leapt down from the front of the boat. “When this is all over, can we move here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai laughed. “Don’t you want to come to the Capitol?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is the Capitol this… nice?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai looked around again. “The Capitol… doesn’t have as much nature in it. But it has some great architecture. It’s nice in its own way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki considered. “I’d visit you,” he offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chuckled. “That would be nice,” Ozai replied, and he disembarked as well, helping the boy drag the boat next to the cliff face. It took them a lot longer without Hama, and by the end, they both collapsed onto the sand, thoroughly worn out. Aiki gestured at the boat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to have to do that again, aren’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai shrugged. “Well, we aren’t leaving until Wantu Town is with us, so maybe they can help us next time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few more minutes, they began to walk up a narrow and steep trail that wound its way around the cliffs and up to Wantu. The more they climbed, the more beautiful the cove became. They passed nests of baby birds, their mothers feeding them as they squawked. One chick fell off their nest, plunging down into the sea, and then Aiki was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aiki!” Ozai yelled as Aiki dropped down, grabbing the bird, then the cliff, then climbing back up and depositing the bird back in its nest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aiki!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just…” Ozai was a bit shaken by the boy’s willingness to jump off a cliff. “Tell me next time? You do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… sorry,” Aiki looked a bit sheepish. “We do it all the time at my village. And look!” He picked the little chick up and held it out to Ozai. “Look how cute he is!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai looked at it, a bit confused. Yes, it was small, but he didn’t understand why Aiki had saved it. This was nature, a game of survival. He would have left it to fall. Still, he nodded, and Aiki smiled, putting the bird back, and they continued on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were within a kilometre of the village when the farmlands began. Workers in the fields stopped the stare as they walked down the track.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… Ozai? I think they know who we are,” Aiki whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just act like you own the ground beneath your feet,” Ozai commanded him. A farmer ran up to them, teetering on skinny legs. The man was all bone and baggy eyes, his shirt hanging loosely around his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ ...Firelord?” he asked. “It is… really you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firelord…” the man dropped down into a low bow, but Ozai bent down to help him up. I need their friendship and respect, not loyalty out of fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the only lesson he would take from Ursa’s bastard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy, friend,” he pulled the man back up off the dirt. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goman, Firelord.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goman. What has happened to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firelord, we… our entire town is starving. We have no money, no food… nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Earth Kingdom?” Ozai asked. The man looked at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Firelord…” he sputtered. “Nakida City. They’ve been taking everything from us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lira and Bhuli as well,” a new voice said. Ozai turned to see a young man standing in front of them. He looked a bit fitter than these older men, more like a leader. “Nakida has been bleeding us all dry for almost four months now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Aiki asked. The young man shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know. Apparently it’s for Firelord Zuko, but…” he trailed off, looking a bit worried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what?” Ozai prompted. This time, another man spoke, as a lot of the farmers had gathered around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t think he would do that to us. He said he would make the Fire Nation stronger again, but while the Capitol is doing fine, we aren’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just what he does,” Ozai said. “Firelord Zuko makes empty promises. He’s trying to appease the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, but by giving them what we have, he’s killing the nation from the inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Things were fine before though,” Goman muttered. “In the first few years…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Earth Kingdom is getting more and more greedy,” Aiki said. He was probably the youngest there, but he drew attention like no other. “Firelord Zuko doesn’t know how to say no to them… or doesn’t want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Murmurs of anger rose from the crowd. He’s good at this, Ozai thought with pride. Very good at this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should have been my son, and not Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come, Firelord, please,” the young man said, beckoning them all to the town gates. “We want to help your cause, but we don’t have much to offer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your willingness to fight for the Fire Nation’s freedom is enough,” Ozai smiled. “Thank you for joining our cause.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lira and Bhuli would be happy to join as well, but Nakida is completely shut off from the rest of the island. It’s like they’ve barricaded themselves in! It would take a miracle to convince them to join us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Ozai said, an idea forming in his mind. “I don’t think we’ll need a miracle.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Lightning in a Bottle, Part One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>TW: Panic Attacks</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"How would you trap the lightning in the first place?" Iroh asked Sokka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, I was hoping you would know if there was material out there that could conduct the energy. I was thinking maybe a kind of metal, but do you…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah. No."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a few days after Uncle had arrived in the Capitol, along with the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors, and Sokka had been grilling him about this bottled lightning idea. Zuko thought it was a bit like a few of Sokka's other ideas: far fetched and a bit hopeful, and as his best friend, it was his job to have absolutely no faith in him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka groaned, leaning back in his chair, swinging his legs up on the tabletop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh! No," Ursa called from the kitchen. Sokka sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How does she do that?" he asked, resting his legs on the ground again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?" Suki asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know. She's in the bloody kitchen. How can she see if my feet are on the table?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She's a mother," Zuko grinned. "She just… knows." Iroh laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was always told my mother had eyes everywhere -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, that's what mummy says she has too," Kiyi burst into the room. Zuko smiled down at her as she ran towards them and jumped up onto a chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Kiyi!" Suki fist bumped his sister. "How was firebending training?" Kiyi groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I've learned all the basics already! I want to do more stuff, like… like shooting fire out of my eyes!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, can you do that?" Sokka asked as the rest of them cracked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, Sokka," Ikem said, walking into the room. He was carrying a tray of teas, practising for when the shop would open. He set them down, handing them out as he spoke. "Firebenders can't shoot fire out of their eyes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Have they tried?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord!" A man strode into the shop, stopping a few feet away to bow. Zuko quickly returned the gesture. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sokka wave awkwardly and suppressed a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"General Mason. What's happening?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord, there's a… protest in the north-eastern quadrant of the city. It's quickly turning into a violent situation. We need to know how you want to deal with it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A protest? Against what? When did it start?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The general hesitated. "The protest began about an hour ago, but it only became violent -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"An </span>
  <em>
    <span>hour</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Why wasn't I told of this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord… it's a civilian-lead protest against your rule, against the oppression the nation is suffering… a sort of rally for Ozai," the general said apologetically. "But the whole situation was under control -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Was</span>
  </em>
  <span>, General Mason, and now we have a riot on our hands," Zuko glared. Mason opened his mouth to speak, but Zuko silenced him with a hand. "We'll discuss this later. I'm going to the quadrant."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord, that wouldn't be… wise. It's getting quite serious. We need to move troops into the area -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can't move troops against a civilian protest in a civilian area!" Sokka protested suddenly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sokka, let the firelord deal with this," Suki said, laying a hand on his arm. Ikem took the moment to grab the tray, and Kiyi, and carry them out of the room, much to the protestations of the latter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But if the protest is against oppression, you can't go and oppress them! That'd only anger them -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And what would you have us do?" Mason countered, a sneer entering his voice as he appraised him. "Go out and talk to them? They are destroying civilian and public property and endangering lives. There have been reports of looting and assault and by sitting here and pretending we can </span>
  <em>
    <span>reason</span>
  </em>
  <span> with these people, you are hindering a government operation!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not hindering it, I'm telling you that what you are planning to do will only increase the violence -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will not take orders from a boy barely half the years that I have served this nation about a matter of civilian violence that he clearly has no idea how to deal with!” Mason exploded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ve served a long time have you? That seems to be the problem with old age: your brain cells recede along with your hairline -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka!” Suki exclaimed. Uncle, on the other hand, sat further back in his chair and sipped his tea. Thanks for the assist Uncle, Zuko thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And maybe you should listen more to me, because I am being far more logical than -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, sit down!” Zuko commanded, for Sokka was now standing less than a foot away from the general, his sword hand actually beginning to twitch. “General Mason, you -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re being logical?” Mason’s voice was filled with sarcasm and Zuko had to move quickly in front of Sokka to push him away. Mason pointed a finger accusingly at his friend. “You would know all about civilian violence, wouldn’t you? After all, you’re all I’ve heard about from my sister Hayu!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And all Zuko could hear was the slight creak of the kitchen door. He spared a glance to see Kiyi’s curious yet cautious face peering in. Iroh set his cup of tea down, his own face lined with wrinkles of concern; Suki looked appalled, but Sokka hadn’t said anything…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko slowly looked over at his friend, lowering his hands. Sokka looked thoroughly taken aback. “Your sister is Hayu?” he whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mason glared at him. “You didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to save her, did you? Kaida? Did you even think to stop for her? She was my niece, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>bastard</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and you didn’t save her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka took in a shaky breath. Zuko turned to the general, who spat at his friend, “Why should I trust you? Why should </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re done here,” Zuko said quietly, but Sokka was already moving, already shoving his way to the door. The wood slammed against the frame, and the shop was quiet once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko groaned, a weight pressing into the side of his skull. He’d have to deal with that later, much as he wanted to run after Sokka, much as he wanted to yell at Mason. Suki stood up from her spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take the Kyoshi Guard to the quadrant and try to stabilise the situation. General Mason, if you would send a couple of troops to assist, but I don’t want them engaging with civilians unless absolutely necessary. We’ll try to round up those instigating the attacks in Hajai Square.” Mason looked over at her then, seeming to remember she outranked him and that there was a riot at the same time, nodded and abruptly took off. Suki quickly began to follow suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will Sokka be ok?” Kiyi’s voice drifted in from the crack in the door. Uncle smiled at her, beckoning for his sister to join them. She ran over to Iroh and he lifted her up onto his lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about him. He’ll get through it; he just needs some time alone right now to sort out his thoughts. We’ll go about what we need to do and he’ll join us when he’s ready.” And although Iroh had been reassuring Kiyi, he knew that his Uncle was saying what Zuko and Suki needed to hear as well. Suko nodded and left the shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now Kiyi,” Iroh said. “We’re going to go to the riot. You have to promise you will stay by my side the whole time -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Zuko started, and a little echo followed suit as Ursa and Ikem barged back into the main room of the shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She can’t go to a violent riot, she’s seven,” Ursa said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Uncle, I don’t think -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wanted her to learn how to lead, didn’t you?” Iroh asked. “She may be young, but she is part of this family now. She needs to learn the risks and the way of ruling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you want her to learn in a protected way, from the safety of the palace. That is not the way to teach, Zuko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She can’t go. Not to something like this,” Ikem said, Zuko and Ursa nodding in agreement. Iroh sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well. We’ll go to the south quadrant then!” He stood from his chair - first letting Kiyi jump down - and then took her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I want to go to the riot!” Kiyi complained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have been banned. Royal decree.” And with that, Uncle and Kiyi left the shop. Zuko sighed, out of habit reaching for the tea cups and stacking them. Ikem hastened to take over the task, insisting he needed the practise anyway. Zuko saw the words as a subtle dismissal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thank fuck someone was ordering him around, telling him what to do. He didn’t know what he’d do if everything were left up to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Move to a farm, maybe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not… </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… need to go,” Zuko sighed, walking out of the door and towards the small pillars of smoke that told the story of a city overflowing with angry flames.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka ran towards the north-east quadrant, passing through pedestrians that thickened as he neared, till he couldn’t shove through the crowds anymore. They surged away from the quadrant, full of little kids crying for their parents, full of families hurrying to get home, or to get away from their homes, as the smoke of the protests rose into the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowds began to press in on him, closing around him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>trapping</span>
  </em>
  <span> him in. He jumped above a rushing family to take a breath of air before he plunged back into the crowd’s embraces. They pushed him back, pushed him forward, decided they didn’t know where he wanted to go and by that time Sokka didn’t care - he felt sick in the throat and everywhere was being touched by </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he just needed -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. Hey!” a familiar voice cut through the mist, grabbing his arm and dragging him through the crowd. He slammed into bodies, piling around him, rock solid, until he was dragged into a small door frame off the street, and there was </span>
  <em>
    <span>space</span>
  </em>
  <span> around him and </span>
  <em>
    <span>air</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathe again</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In. Out. In. Out. Keeping his eyes down on the ground until the bile disappeared from his mouth. He swallowed, and looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sergeant Li had an arm steadying his shoulder, another blocking the street from their little corner. “You ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka nodded, holding on tight to Li’s arm as he breathed. In. Breathed. Out. “Yeah.” He sighed. Li grimaced sympathetically. “You… don’t seem to like crowds much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked out at the panicking people, the rushing hoards. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought. He shouldn’t be panicking like that, couldn’t be panicking like that. It happened </span>
  <em>
    <span>months</span>
  </em>
  <span> ago, why couldn’t he just </span>
  <em>
    <span>move on</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because he didn’t deserve to, a small voice in his mind said. Because of Kaida, and Fai and all the others that were </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span> because of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mason was right. He didn’t deserve anyone’s trust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he just nodded. “Yeah. Guess I don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li didn’t say anything; just pushed the door they were taking refuge in and ushered Sokka in. The door led into a small shop, but when the shopkeeper, who had been cowering behind the desk, saw Li, he straightened, pulled out a small crossbar, and hurried over to the carpet that lay across the floor. Li helped him lift the mat to reveal a small trapdoor. The keeper opened it, and Li gestured to Sokka to come.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s happening?” Sokka asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get to the protests. This is the fastest way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Through some underground labyrinth?” The keeper laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The sewers, kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get prepared to get a bit grubby,” Li admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Underground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Surrounded by earth, and no air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No way, a part of him thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh grow up, another part said. You have to one day. What are you going to do, hide this from everyone you know? Never do anything because you’re so afraid?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly he approached the trapdoor. A set of rungs were inlaid into the stones, and down below, he could hear a faint moving of water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gross, he thought. At least that was something both sides of his brain could agree upon. Sokka sighed, and dropped down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Kyoshi Warriors were only a few streets away, having heard the commotion for themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s happening?” Ty Lee asked. Almost in answer, a small explosion went off a few streets away. Suki heard a couple of windows shatter, but no buildings fell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since when did they have explosives? Or were firebenders just getting out of hand?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Riots. They’re in favour of Ozai’s rule, so we need to be careful. Only be on the defensive, but take out anyone who is threatening civilians,” Suki ordered. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group fell into a brisk jog, navigating the streets as if they had been born in the city. Well, Ty Lee had. The others were just fast learners, but they made a fast pace and soon the streets opened up more as the crowds thinned out and the explosions got bigger and louder. The majority of civilians must have already gotten away from the quadrant, Suki thought. Good. She turned to the Guard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rui, Maiya, Seika and Asa. I want you on the perimeter of the quadrant. Help civilians leave the area, but don’t let any rioters through. Ty Lee, you go with them and show them the best places to patrol. Hina and Izumi, take the western part of the quadrant. Mirai, you’re with me. We’ll take the eastern section. Try to round rioters up to the middle of the quad -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief Suki!” Mason’s voice rang through the crowds. Suki glared at him as he and not two, but seven troop divisions, came over. Suki nodded to her Guard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Move out girls. Mirai,” she gestured for the other girl to join her as she faced Mason. “General, I appreciate the support, but you’re brought along too many troops. This will only make the rioters feel justified!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief, just don’t. I already heard it from your… </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>. We need to suppress these rioters. Tell me where your troops are and I’ll send support.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t… fine,” Suki relented. “Have your men secure the perimeter. Send in one division in to help with the rioters -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a big quadrant. We need as many people being able to help civilians leave the area and stop rioters from spreading to other areas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no. You aren’t letting civilians out of the quadrant, are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki blinked. “Um… yes? It’s for their safety -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. I apologise, Chief Suki, but you’re doing this wrong. We need to lockdown the whole quadrant of the city. No one leaves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, great,” Suki said. “And you’ll just leave the innocent people to the rioters. What a </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief, I don’t want to hear this. It’s becoming very clear to me that you young people have no idea how to deal with a problem like this. I’m calling in more troops.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You will not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief, you may outrank me in accordance with the Firelord’s agenda, but I control the military, and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> bringing in more troops. Go tell your own to either follow my orders or leave the area to avoid interfering with government business.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fucking bastard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki pivoted and walked away. Mirai, who had been standing next to her, hurried to follow her. Once they were out of earshot, Suki turned to her. “Go find Hina and Izumi and bring them to the Fountain of… um… shit, I don’t know what it’s called. It looks like a massive boob but the water comes out of the top.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“An onion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does that spray water?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you know what I’m talking about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, totally. I think Rui described it as abstract art?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course she did. I’ll get the others. We’ll meet there. We aren’t listening to Mason and we are certainly not leaving.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another explosion, and the sounds of cheering. Shit, this was a lot worse than she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s do this,” Mirai said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another explosion rocked the world above, sending waves that slammed into them as they raced through the sewers. Sokka spewed out a fountain of shitty water as Li coughed his way back to life. The flame in Li’s hand, which was their light source, was doused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, Li? </span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> is the best way to the centre of it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li shrugged. “The safest way,” he sputtered, flicking his hand. A flame rose from it once more. Sokka rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When this is over, I am going to have a nice, long bath. You can join me if you want.” He pushed on through the sewage. It was about knee high, and quite hard to wade through. It didn’t have the clear… consistency that water did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Don’t think about that, he thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li splashed up to him, and they waded through the muck side by side. Another explosion, although it was much smaller this time and Sokka only swallowed about a quarter of the Capitol’s excrement. Li gestured up to the roof with his spare hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are those explosives?” he asked. Sokka shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That one wasn’t. That was firebending,” he replied as they went on. “You can tell when it’s an explosive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? I can’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shrugged. To him, the difference was obvious, although he had used explosives multiple times and two of his best friends could firebend. It was all in the duration and the quality of the noise. Firebent explosions were a lot quicker, as fire required fuel and often the qi of the bender wasn’t enough to sustain it, however the sound was a lot clearer. Explosions originating from an explosive tended to be filled with the noise of debris a lot more than firebent explosions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was just about to explain the difference to him when the sewer around them shuddered, jerking itself to the left and then the right, sending water and urine and whatever else there was around the walls, until they too began to fall apart. Sokka was thrown to one side of the sewer and Li to the other, just as the sound came.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A massive explosion that ripped his ears apart, leaving only a loud ringing sensation in his head. Sokka groaned, gripping the wall to heave himself up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li was saying something, but he couldn’t hear a word, couldn’t hear </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head to clear it, and then looked up around the sewer. A couple of rocks had tumbled down into the sewage, but everything seemed pretty stable, and his hearing was coming back. A faint rumbling, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>scraping</span>
  </em>
  <span> sound was coming from above him…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up just in time to see a massive stone plummet down towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Move, he thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Can’t. Trapped. Again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You can move, he told himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No I can’t. I’m stuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No you </span>
  <em>
    <span>aren’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trapped. Again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both voices faded as he raised his hands around his head, crouching down and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dust fell around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka looked up from the shit, turning slowly to see a small crackle of electricity writhe its way around Li’s hand and vanish. He stood up shakily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka! You ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>lightningbend</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Since when could you do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li looked extremely uncomfortable. “Dude, you almost died, and you’re worrying about some lightning?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… thank you. For saving me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anytime.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Second. What the -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can explain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… ok, I can’t really explain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka threw his hands up in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’ve been able to do it since I was a kid. My brother can do it too and -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… have a brother now,” Sokka said. In an instant, he realised how little he knew of Li.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… not </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Five years I’ve had him, but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And… wait. Wait wait wait, I thought only people from the royal family could lightningbend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li shrugged. “I don’t know, man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe… is it becoming more common? More people can metalbend now, and that used to be something only Toph Beifong could do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe…” Sokka didn’t think that was it. Metalbending was just controlling the earth within the metal, but lightning bending…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That took skill and power, according to Iroh. It was one of the first questions he had asked about lightbulbs. That and why lightning and water reacted so explosively together, and whether it could be used… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over at Li, and sure enough, he was also standing knee deep in the shit-filled water.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Lightning in a Bottle, Part Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Colonel Sami.”</p><p>“Firelord.” She bowed to him, and Zuko returned the gesture. “We have aid officers standing by, but we need the quadrant secured before they can enter. Currently, we’re all planted along the outskirts of the perimeter, but we can’t get any further.”</p><p>“Could we send in aid officers with some military troops? To both protect and help them?” Zuko suggested.</p><p>“We… don’t have that many troops available,” Sami admitted. “General Mason is pulling them all in from the Palace and other military outposts in the area. He’s already called for an extra ten divisions.”</p><p>“Ten? <em> Ten </em>?”</p><p>“Yes, Firelord. And he had already taken seven.”</p><p>“It must be worse than I thought,” Zuko considered. Colonel Sami went to speak, but stopped herself. “Go on,” Zuko urged.</p><p>“Oh, it’s not my place, Firelord.”</p><p>“Tell me.”</p><p>“Oh… well, General Mason’s always had an… authoritative view on these situations. I don’t think it’s that serious from a military point of view, but he’s bringing in extra troops, which will certainly anger the protesters more. The anger in the city is about to explode; this is just one of the leaks. It’s like… like…”</p><p>“Lightning.”</p><p>“In a bottle,” she agreed.</p><p>“Yeah,” Zuko mused. He nodded to her. “Thank you, Colonel Sami.”</p><p>Colonel Sami moved off, and Zuko began to walk through the makeshift tents that had been quickly erected. Quite a lot of people were being treated, mostly for injuries sustained as they ran away from the rioting.</p><p>There wasn’t anything to <em> do </em> until the rioters had been dealt with, and he couldn’t go and help, apparently, so he just wandered.</p><p>Something tugged on his robe. He looked down to see a small boy, no more than seven, tapping on his leg. He smiled and crouched down.</p><p>“Hey,” he said.</p><p>“Hi,” the kid said. He sounded choked up, and a little worried.</p><p>“What’s your name?” Zuko asked.</p><p>“Um… Raiden,” the boy muttered.</p><p>“Hi Raiden. I’m Zuko.” Zuko stuck out his hand and the boy, after a little consideration, touched it lightly.</p><p>Close enough, Zuko thought.</p><p>“Are you alright?” Zuko asked.</p><p>“Um… I can’t find my brother. And I don’t know where I am.”</p><p>“That’s ok. Let’s go find him,” Zuko smiled, and Raiden looked at him.</p><p>“Are you… the Firelord? Are you in control of everyone here?” he asked, with a little bit of awe seeping through.</p><p>“I guess.” He leaned towards him. “Not many people are listening to me at the moment though.”</p><p>“I’m listening to you!”</p><p>“Yes, you are, which is why you are a great person, Raiden.” Raiden started to smile. “Come on.”</p><p>They got up from the cobblestones and weaved their way through the tents and crowds in search of Raiden’s brother.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, the boob fountain.”</p><p>“It’s <em> abstract art </em>!”</p><p>“Ok Rui, I’m sorry that you’re the only straight in a group of horny queers, but…”</p><p>“It’s a boob, Rui.”</p><p>“It’s <em> not </em>!”</p><p>“Are we all here?” Suki interrupted, looking around as she, Rui, Maiya, Seika and Asa arrived. Ty Lee, Mirai, Izumi and Hina were lounging on the steps, but as the others arrived, they stood.</p><p>“Looks about it,” Izumi said. “So - what do we do?”</p><p>Suki looked around the square where the boob fountain was situated. The place had already seen its fair share of protestors, Suki could see. Windows had been shattered, glass scattered among the cobblestones, doors broken in, revealing dark houses beyond. Even the fountain had been scarred; chips of marble lay in the pond around it, and the many of the wooden seats that lined the base were in ruins.</p><p>But the worst part was the burns.</p><p>Ozai’s mark, the mark of the Phoenix King, had been burnt or painted around the square and through the streets. They were rudimentary at best, but they all delivered the same message, the same threat.</p><p>Maybe Mason was right…</p><p>No, she told herself. He wasn’t.</p><p>She turned back to the group. “We stick together. We don’t know where Mason’s troops are and I don’t want any of you arrested for obeying my orders. We also don’t know how many rioters there are and we don’t want to cause any casualties -”</p><p>“Might be hard to avoid them,” Seika said, and a couple of the others nodded. Suki relented.</p><p>“Only in self defence. I suppose Mason won’t be against the murder of civilians either, but <em> try </em> to only incapacitate. You all know how to do that, so if I hear any of you have caused any deaths, you’d better have a good reason. Are we clear?”</p><p>The group nodded. “Good.”</p><p>“So where do we start?” Rui asked. Suki shrugged.</p><p>“No idea. Ty Lee,” she gestured for her to talk. Ty Lee frowned.</p><p>“Me?”</p><p>“Yes. You. You know the city and I, currently, am hopelessly lost. The only comfort I can find is that I am lost but standing next to a giant boob.”</p><p>Rui began, “It’s abstract -”</p><p>“It’s a boob!” the rest of them yelled.</p><p>Suki turned to Ty Lee. “Where would they be?”</p><p>Ty Lee considered for a moment, then looked up. “The Plaza of Sozin’s Comet - the Great Comet,” she amended. After the war had ended, Zuko had tried to decree that all things named after his warmongering ancestors be converted to their original, or new, names, which included the comet. Although there was a lot of public dissent at that, the Kyoshi Guard easily made the switch, given they had never grown up with the Fire Nation customs.</p><p>All of them except Ty Lee.</p><p>“It’s the one closest both to the water and the northern gate. It seems the most logical base, because they obviously prepared this, and they must have planned for multiple escape paths. There are also only a few streets that lead there, so it's not very accessible from down here," Ty Lee explained.</p><p>Suki regarded Ty Lee in a new light. Usually, she didn't talk much in strategy, and preferred to strike before talking. But she <em> was </em> a lot smarter than she let on. Suki would have to remember that.</p><p>"What do you mean by <em> down there </em>," Rui asked. Ty Lee faced her, a small mischievous twinkle in her eye.</p><p>"It's very accessible… by the rooftops."</p><p> </p><p>“You’re… you’re standing in water,” Sokka said shakily. Li frowned for a second, then his face cleared, changing from confusion to realisation to shock in an instant.</p><p>“Oh… <em> oh </em>.” He looked down at his hands in bewilderment.</p><p>“Oh? Is ‘oh’ all you have to say?” Sokka demanded. Li winced slightly, but Sokka continued on. “Li, you could have killed yourself. You could have brought this whole sewer system down, electrocuted yourself - what were you thinking?”</p><p>“I… wasn’t?” Li sighed, still staring at his hands. “The rock was falling, so I… just shot. By instinct, I guess… And before you ask about just a normal fireball, I only thought of that… after. I know I’m probably not making any sense, but lightning bending… it’s always just come more naturally to me. It’s always my immediate instinct, and I always have to stop myself before I reveal it, but sometimes… I can’t stop.” He looked up at Sokka then, who looked away, realising something. “If I stop… other people get hurt, so maybe it’s just… better to…”</p><p>“Risk myself than to let others be hurt, even if they won’t hurt much. It’s better that I - we -  hurt to save them.” He looked back to Li, who was nodding.</p><p>“Yeah… you? You feel it too?”</p><p>“All the time,” Sokka replied grimly. He nodded to Li. “Thanks.”</p><p>Li shrugged. “Anytime.”</p><p>A few moments later, another explosion rocked the chamber, reminding them of what lay above them. Li hurried forward, pushing past Sokka.</p><p>“Come on. It’s this way - just a few more minutes, and we should be there - what are you waiting for?”</p><p>Sokka had crouched down to get a better look at what lay in the shit. Something solid, and by solid, he hoped it was the good kind, and not the bad kind. And sure enough, when he stuck his hand in, swirling it around the muck for way too long, he grasped what he had felt and pulled it up.</p><p>A glass bottle, somehow fully intact, and full of sewage water. He brought it over to Li, and handed it over.</p><p>Li fiddled it around his hands, then gave it back. “So?”</p><p>“So… you, somehow, didn’t electrocute yourself when you shot lightning in the sewage. Could you… do it again? Into this bottle?”</p><p>“Yeah but… why?” Li slid back through the muck into a stance as Sokka emptied some of the water, leaving a few centimetres at the bottom.</p><p>“Humour me.”</p><p>“Alright.” Li moved his shit covered hands through the air, almost carving a picture with his precision, and the lightning began to crackle around his fingertips.</p><p>But the water lay perfectly still.</p><p>Sokka pointed the open end of the bottle towards Li, and Li obliged with his shot, the bolt arcing perfectly into the bottle.</p><p>When the bolt had run out, Sokka slammed the lid back on and held it out in front of him, beholding the spectacle. The bottle was not breaking; only the surface of the water as the lightning crackled around it, and the small metal stick Sokka had stuck to the bottom of the bottle. The sewer glowed with almost white light as each surface reflected the lightning. Li looked up.</p><p>“It’s pretty awesome… how did you know it would work?”</p><p>Sokka shrugged. “I didn’t. But you have to try stuff, and I thought, well, you were like the conductor, and the sewer was like the glass bottle, except you didn’t let the lightning touch the water. In this, the metal can’t control the lightning, so it touches the water, which bounces it back up, but the metal bounces it back and so forth. The glass doesn’t break because… because… oh, actually, what the fuck?” Sokka frowned as Li laughed. “No no! I’ve got it - the glass doesn’t break because the lightning isn’t touching it. It’s only touching the water!”</p><p>And then a bolt bounced in completely the wrong direction, and slammed into the lid. The glass shattered and Sokka yelped, letting go of the bottle as the lightning, now no longer connected to the conductor or the water, died and the bottle sunk back into the shit.</p><p>Li lit a flame in his hand. “That… <em> was </em> pretty cool, but what would you use it for?”</p><p>Sokka sighed, thinking the memory of the brilliant glow over. “I… don’t know. Anyway,” he shook his head to clear it, and changed the subject. “We need to go. Where was the exit?”</p><p>“Oh! Yeah, just over here,” Li said, and the two plunged further through the sewer. “We’re going to come up near Avatar Szeto Square, a few streets away from the Northern Gate. I think that’s where the rioters have set up a kind of… base.”</p><p>Sokka nodded, and a few moments later, they reached a metal ladder. Li quickly jumped up and ascended, leaving Sokka in the dark for a moment.</p><p>The voice reached to him again, whispering a tale of the darkness closing in on him. He could feel the cold touch of it on his skin, the scratching of the rocks, the <em> ache </em> in his arm…</p><p>Sunlight flooded into the sewer, and Sokka looked up to Li staring down at him. “Come on!” Li whispered.</p><p>Shaking the feeling away, Sokka scaled the ladder, practically leaping out of the hatch and into the alley. Even this small alley felt like freedom compared to the sewer, and he welcomed the space.</p><p>“Ok,” he said as Li closed the hatch. They raced to the opening of the alley and looked into the square.</p><p>Rioters were looting and burning the place, but to Sokka, it didn’t feel like a base at all - more like just a pillaging place.</p><p>“This isn’t where they’ve set up, so to speak,” Sokka said, then he frowned. “I don’t think they’ve set up anything at all, to be -” he stopped as a figure leapt in front of them, brandishing his weapon - a standard military spear.</p><p>Since when did normal civilians have access to those kinds of weapons? Sokka thought, drawing his sword. Beside him, Li fell into a stance as the man called over some reinforcements, and then he realised.</p><p>Every one of them was wearing maroon and yellow, from head to toe.</p><p>They all had a black armband, with Ozai’s symbol glaring proudly out at them.</p><p>And none of them had the soft, well-nourished looks of Capitol civilians.</p><p>These weren’t ordinary rioters. These were invading forces.</p><p> </p><p>“Well Raiden,” Zuko said, sitting down on a nearby crate. He gestured for Raiden to join him as he pulled up another crate. “Your brother doesn’t appear to be anywhere here.”</p><p>Raiden shrugged. He looked a lot happier now, even without finding his brother. “That’s ok. He’s probably in the quadrant. He’s a sergeant.”</p><p>“Oh! Well, that explains a lot then,” Zuko smiled. “What’s his name?”</p><p>“Li.”</p><p>“Ah, a great name, if I do say so myself.”</p><p>“But Raiden is a better name.”</p><p>Zuko laughed. “You remind me of my sister… Kiyi,” he elaborated as Raiden looked confused. “Not… my other sister.”</p><p>Raiden brightened up again. “Is she about my age?”</p><p>“Yeah! She is - wait, how did you know that?”</p><p>“‘Cause! She’s right there!”</p><p>Zuko looked up just in time for Kiyi to knock him off his crate in a massive hug.</p><p>“Kiyi!” Zuko sat up as Kiyi released him. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Iroh brought me!”</p><p>And sure enough, Iroh’s familiar silhouette approached them, looking very grim. Zuko frowned. He knew Iroh probably wouldn’t bring a seven year old here… unless something really bad was going down.</p><p>“Uncle. What’s happened?”</p><p>Iroh sighed. “The rioters. We’ve received word from Troop Division 2. They’re not civilians. They are outside forces.”</p><p>Just as he said those words, Colonel Sami and General Osama appeared from an intersecting street. Zuko held up a hand as they made to bow.</p><p>“They’re not civilians.”</p><p>“No, Firelord.”</p><p>Zuko nodded, taking off his Firelord cape and shoulder piece. “Uncle, can you take Kiyi and Raiden back to the palace? Get Mum and Ikem along with you.”</p><p>Iroh sighed, then nodded. “I’ll join you when they’re safe. I assume you’ll be entering the fight now.”</p><p>Zuko nodded, then held up his hand again as Osama and Sami protested. “General. Colonel. I’m not just going to wait here while my father tears up my city. I’m going in, and I need you to start moving medical and aid divisions in.” The two women nodded, and moved off. He turned to Raiden. “Raiden, can you go with my sister Kiyi and my Uncle back to the palace for me?”</p><p>Raiden nodded, then turned to Kiyi. “Hi.”</p><p>“Hi. Do you like fire gummies? I have a whole secret stash that I’ve been meaning to finish, but there are too many for just me.”</p><p>“Yeah! I love fire gummies,” Raiden bounced, and the two began to run back to the palace. Iroh sighed.</p><p>“How do they have that speed <em> and </em> that stamina?” he muttered as he jogged after them. Zuko turned as well, and began to run down the street towards the middle of the quadrant.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s like stepping stones on a big river!” Ty Lee called over to the rest of the group. “Except your stones are buildings and if you fall, you don’t get wet.”</p><p>“You just break your back,” Seika muttered.</p><p>“Exactly! It’s fun!” And with that, Ty Lee leapt from their building onto the next.</p><p>“I can’t believe I’m going to die playing a massive version of Hopscotch,” Hina said, before she jumped too, landing lighting on the next roof and running to join Ty Lee.</p><p>Truth be told, they were all quite capable of jumping from one rooftop to the next, but unlike Ty Lee, none of them could quite shake the feeling that one misstep would spell the end. As the group jumped through the city, Suki wondered upon whether it would be possible to build massive poles in each street, with some kind of net or even a cord between them. It would probably not work - there was no other reason aside from a bit of mental security that the poles would serve.</p><p>Even so, Suki decided as she landed after a particularly long jump, skidding a bit on the tiles before stopping herself on the gutter, she wouldn’t have minded the poles and nets.</p><p>“We’re almost there!” Mirai called. She was probably the best of this whole jumping business, aside from Ty Lee. She was small and flexible and light and all the things that were good for this sort of thing. The rest of the Kyoshi were more muscled, taller and stockier, and while they could all parkour their way around a building, leaping across streets and alleyways was a different thing altogether.</p><p>And there was the added gossip that Ty Lee had been giving Mirai a few extra tips. Mirai and Ty Lee were the newest additions to their group and while Mirai had a couple of years on the acrobat, they had bonded far more than any of the other Warriors had to each other. </p><p>It wasn’t as if they weren’t all friends. Mirai and Ty Lee just seemed to have something more…</p><p>Stop it, Suko told herself, jumping to another building. If they have something deeper, they can share it with us when they want to. In the meantime, I shouldn’t be making assumptions.</p><p>But when Mirai stumbled a tiny bit, and Ty Lee was instantly there to spot her, Suki couldn’t help but wonder.</p><p>Hina and Seika were the last to arrive on their building, and then they all crowded around the point of the roof, looking over into the Plaza of the Great Comet.</p><p>Instead of a hapless group of civilian rioters, they all saw an organised force, fitted even with a couple of healers, locked into their base with barricades, sending small groups of pairs or trios out to the quadrant.</p><p>“How many?” Izumi asked.</p><p>“Twenty… five. Nope, twenty-six,” Seika revised as a man entered the square.</p><p>“And there’ll be more out there,” Asa mused.</p><p>“So… maybe fifty of them?”</p><p>“Probably.”</p><p>“So here’s the plan,” Suki said. “Next time they send a group out, Asa and Hina will deal with them while Ty Lee and Mirai will deal with the guards on the barricade the group leaves from. Seika, Meiya and I will deal with one of the other two barricades while Rui and Izumi deal with the last one. When your barricade is won, move in towards the plaza. Incapacitate as many as possible. We want this to be over by the time Mason gets -”</p><p>“Um… Suki?” Meiya pointed to a street a few blocks away. The air was slowly being filled with the noise of the closing in troops. Suki cursed.</p><p>“Ok. Asa, you’ll be with Ty Lee and Mirai. Take the left barricade. Hina, you’re with Rui and Izumi, and you take the barricade closest to us. We’ll take the other one. Let’s move!”</p><p>Ty Lee, Mirai and Asa leapt across the rooves, moving quickly around the loose tiles and stubborn chimneys. Rui, Izumi and Hina leapt down to balconies and continued their descent into the street below. Suki jumped over a couple of buildings before she had positioned herself above the last barricade. Seika and Meiya were with her in an instant and together, they dropped from the roof.</p><p> </p><p>There were nine of them in this square, Sokka counted as they all began to slowly approach him and Li. Most of them had weapons at the ready, but a few flicked their hands and wrists to summon flames to fight with.</p><p>The man faced them again. “If you put your weapons down, we will not kill you,” he boomed, lifting a hammer off his belt and sliding into a…</p><p>Well, not a stance. He was standing in a vaguely threatening way, but his feet were…</p><p>Not threatening at all. Sokka frowned. If these were invading forces, wouldn’t they be a bit more… trained? Whoever these people were, this one was one of the leaders, as the other eight silently agreed with the man.</p><p>And if this was how their leaders fought…</p><p>And then Sokka realised. Ozai hadn’t raised an army to fight for him, not really. He had rallied villages to his cause, but most of the volunteers were just… villagers. They had never been trained properly in battle or anything. And the closer Sokka looked, the more uneasy the group looked, the more untrained.</p><p>Li looked over at Sokka. “How do you want to do this?” he asked quietly. “They aren’t… soldiers.”</p><p>“No. They’re just desperate. Be careful though - desperate people to desperate things.” He faced the man and sheathed his sword.</p><p>The man blinked in surprise as Sokka stuck out a hand. “Hi. I’m Sokka and this is Li. What’s your name?”</p><p>The man stared at Sokka’s outstretched hand for a few moments. “Jezu,” the man replied, but made no move to shake his hand. Sokka shrugged, lowering his hand.</p><p>“Jezu. You need to make a decision. You are all, technically, traitors against the Firelord, even though you are serving a… different one.”</p><p>Jezu shook his head. “We serve the one true Firelord. Ozai. Zuko is taking everything we have! The Earth Kingdom is getting some, he is getting some as well. But none for us,” Jezu gestured to the group behind him. “That is why we serve Firelord Ozai. He will not steal our livelihoods to give to the Earth Kingdom.”</p><p>No he most certainly will not, Sokka thought. He nodded. “I understand, but -”</p><p>“No. You do not understand.”</p><p>Sokka held up his hands in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “No. I know, but once again, in Firelord Zuko’s eyes, you are all criminals. Jezu, either you all leave the city now, or you will be arrested, possibly killed.”</p><p>The group behind Jezu really turned worried now, and after a few seconds of deliberation, Jezu reached his answer. He nodded.</p><p>“Then we will leave. We will leave the city and return when we are no longer considered criminals because we fight for our freedom.” Jezu turned and walked away. They all watched him leave, and then a few more left with him.</p><p>Four remained. They turned back to Sokka and Li.</p><p>“We are not giving up as easily,” one said. This time, Sokka saw that three of them were firebenders, and one non-bending that had trained a little more than the others. The other five at the end of the square turned to watch as the four slid into their stances.</p><p>“Let’s go!” Jezu called.</p><p>“You go,” one of the firebenders said. “We will fight for our cause today. I hope that you will fight for it tomorrow.”</p><p>Jezu hesitated, and then the five of them ran off into the streets. The four fighters advanced, pushing Li and Sokka back into the alley. Sokka redrew his sword just as the first firebender threw a punch.</p><p>A ball of flame barrelled towards them. They split, the fire glancing off the stone walls around them. Sokka ran along the side of the alley as Li stayed back, shooting his own fire at the four.</p><p>Two of the benders formed shields of fire as they blocked Li’s attacks, although a few of his attacks seemed to be getting through their defences, and it was all they could do to dodge them. </p><p>The first firebender cascaded his flames down towards Sokka. He dodged some, deflected others with his sword, until he reached the firebender. The man threw a few punches, but Sokka dodged them easily enough and struck the pommel of his sword into the man’s head, knocking him out.</p><p>Li had begun to advance as well, keeping the attention of the other benders, but when Sokka took down the first bender, the other two separated their shield wall, allowing the non-bender to charge at Sokka while they turned to the offensive.</p><p>The non-bender used a long whip as their weapon, and they curled it around the air. Sokka jumped, twisting his body over as the whip passed under him. He landed, rolled, and thrust his sword into the space where the non-bender had been a moment ago. They had jumped onto a nearby crate, one of many that littered the alley, and began to flail their whip from their position. Sokka rolled around the cobblestones, dodging the attacks.</p><p>Over on the other side of the alley, Li was positioned in between the two firebenders, swirling around their blasts so they were really just attacking each other, but the benders caught onto the game rather quick. They changed in a split second, one running straight towards Li while the other broke off and…</p><p>Charged at Sokka.</p><p>He pushed himself off the ground into a steady fighting stance, low on his feet. He jumped as the whip slammed into a stone where his feet landed neatly on top of again. He needed something to take care of the non-bender while he dealt with the firebender…</p><p>He threw his sword at the legs of the running firebender. She dodged it easily enough, but the non-bender didn’t dodge the boomerang that he threw right after, as it followed the curl of the whip through the air, but instead of flying over their head, it slammed into it.</p><p>Sokka pushed himself off the ground, grappling the firebender and they both tumbled to the ground. The firebender shoved her knee up and kicked him off her. The first firebender had roused and was making his way over, but Li was still fighting the other bender…</p><p>A blast of fire picked the first firebender up and into the wall. The girl turned to watch, and Sokka rolled, picked up his sword, and slammed the pommel into her stomach. She retched, then held up her hand.</p><p>“Wait! I… surrender…”</p><p>Sokka sighed, looking up. Li roundhouse kicked his opponent, and the man fell back, but in the mouth of the alleyway…</p><p>“Hey Zuko,” Sokka groaned. “Took your fucking time, didn’t you?”</p><p>Then the whip hit him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Under the Sea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>TW: mentions of homophobia and internalised homophobia</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lira was a mess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, Azula thought, was kind of helpful. For them at least. Not for the residents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it did mean they would be more inclined to help their cause, which in turn, would help them, so really, a win win scenario.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They spent the morning of her father and Aiki’s leave training in their bending on the sands. Hama had found a suitable rock to perch herself on and every now and then she would shout out words of encouragement while they sparred.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the strangest part was how she taught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had them scaling the cliffs to find bird nests so they could take the sticks for fuel and, if necessary, the eggs for food, although they didn’t take anything during training. When Azula had argued that they could just use their bending to fly up there (a move she hadn’t taught Sainu yet, but she would get it quite quickly), Hama had just argued back that bending was a finite supply of power. It was more of a well, in that you only had as much energy as was in the well, and you had to wait for it to fill up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not how bending works,” Azula said. Hama raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not for firebenders. How does it feel for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt… it felt…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like a fire. A fire that roared inside of her always. Sometimes the fire grew bigger, sometimes it dropped to embers. But it never extinguished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she told Hama of this, she nodded. “Of course. But when your fire is but an ember, you can’t fuel your flight. So up you must climb.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So up they climbed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After their hands had blistered, cracked and calloused over, and they had reached the top of the spires that jutted from the waters, Hama bent a tower of water to stand above them, then sent them diving off the cliffs into the sea to find the bottom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Sainu asked. “You’re a waterbender. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> where the bottom is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do. But I’m not telling you where it is. Find it yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is jumping in water going to help us firebend?” Azula asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My my. You are a… questioning pair,” Hama chuckled. “Haven’t you ever faced a waterbender? Haven’t you ever needed to summon fire, but have been completely doused?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula’s skin, hot from the sun, chilled, her sweat tingling around her skin. She could feel it, all over, like…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was submerged. By a wave of icy water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hadn’t realised she was rubbing her wrists until Sainu grabbed her hand. “Come on,” she smiled, and ran to the edge of the spire. Azula was dragged along, until Sainu released her at the very edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” she asked. Azula blinked away the memory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll beat you to the bottom,” she grinned, but Sainu was… not next to her anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was already plummeting down the cliff, arms outstretched as she fell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bitch,” Azula muttered, then leapt off the spire as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where Sainu had spread her body out to slow her fall a little, Azula tightened, her cannonball tumbling and turning its way down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu looked up just in time to see Azula woosh past her, and it was only then that Azula spread her arms out. She had the sudden epiphany that she would probably belly flop into the sea if she stayed like this. She knew she should streamline herself, but Sainu hadn’t moved. At all. Just stayed in her free fall as they neared the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula knew she should streamline, but she also knew that Sainu had spent her entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>life</span>
  </em>
  <span> around water. Maybe she knew a better move?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or, more likely, they were going to smack hard into the waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Droplets of salt stung her face and hands when Sainu changed, her hands moving through the air with grace that Azula didn’t even know she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span>, her body lengthening upways, until she was in perfect streamline, and she disappeared under the waves with barely a ripple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula’s landing was a bit more loud, a bit more painful, and, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>happening</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She screamed, slamming her hands in front of her, but she was a bit too late. She crashed into the waters, her impact so huge Azula was sure Hama would be soaked with the waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And everything hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the weirdest sensation Azula had felt. Not that she hadn’t been injured before, but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was pure </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Tingling sensations jarred her body, her ribcage felt like it was on fire (that she did recognise the feeling), her arms and hands could have fallen off and she wouldn’t have noticed anything. Bubbles rose with a fury from her mouth - she hadn’t really taken a breath - and her head felt as if thousands of hammers were whacking it at this one spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her legs hurt the least, which as the waves cleared from her mind, made sense. Her legs had entered last, and through the already disturbed waters, and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kicked upwards, rising above the still chopping waves with a gasp. She sucked in air, which cleared her head more. The sensations were still there, but they had lessened, and she had a job to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She dove back under and opened her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first, there was only foam and waves, but as she left the disturbance of her fall, she began to see more. Little schools of fish began to investigate her, then darted away when they got too close. Little starfish clung to the rocks and… coloured rocks? near the bottom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bottom!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kicked downwards, pushing through the water, getting closer and closer. She couldn’t see Sainu anywhere. That was strange. Maybe she somehow hadn’t found it yet or, more likely, she was already back on the spire with Hama, waiting for Azula to come up and embarrass herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would need to be taught a lesson, Azula thought. On the sparring mats.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her world shifted a second as she remembered another time on those mats. With Sainu. And they had… not </span>
  <em>
    <span>kissed</span>
  </em>
  <span>, no… but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had wanted to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And they had been close, Azula had thought. Maybe Sainu would want it too?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Get over yourself, Azula scolded. Why would she want -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something slammed into her back. She twisted and grabbed her attacker, and they dropped through the water like a stone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula was thrust underneath, but she couldn’t see… it was too dark, and she was losing air - there were so many bubbles…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her back touched the bottom rocks, and a hand swept the bubbles away, Sainu grinning through the colours.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu giggled, although how she had enough air to do that, Azula didn’t know. She rolled her eyes, pushing the other girl off, and shoving her way to the surface. Her lungs were really starting to hurt now, but Sainu grabbed her hand. She spun back, and Sainu pointed over to a small rock formation, with a hole. Sainu began to swim towards it, dragging Azula along, but she snatched her hand back. Sainu looked back, confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>My lungs are literally about to die, she thought, pointing up at the surface, and then at herself, hoping she would get the message, but Sainu shook her head and grabbed her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What was she doing? Azula thought, but she couldn’t pull back - didn’t have the headspace, or the oxygen, to do that. So she went with Sainu, her vision slowly getting darker as they neared the hole.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu dragged her through the formation, and her vision finally petered out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They broke through the surface, Azula gasping in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Careful,” Sainu laughed. “Don’t overflow yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Azula was past that. She drew the air in, slowly slowing down as her body restarted and set itself right. Sainu raised an eyebrow, then frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… you alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell was that?” Azula demanded. “Couldn’t you tell I needed air?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yes, but -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I was fine with going in the rocks after I had more air, but I needed the air </span>
  <em>
    <span>first</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not ten minutes later after I literally blacked out under water and… and…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The water was… warm? Azula looked around. They were definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> on the beach, but in some kind of cavern. Small fragments of light flittered down through little cracks in the rocks that surrounded them and lit up the area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it was… beautiful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moss covered the walls, green and orange and </span>
  <em>
    <span>black</span>
  </em>
  <span>, which she hadn’t realised was even possible! Little shells seemed to be stuck to the walls by some kind of glue, but when she picked one off, little legs squirmed out of the exit for a second, before the full body of the baby crab came out. It ran around Azula’s hand for a moment, but Sainu gently picked it up and put it back in its place, some kind of mist swirling around her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The water definitely was warm, she thought as they tread water together. Hot, even, but not bubbles peeked through the surface, only a faint mist that gave everything a small… </span>
  <em>
    <span>glow</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula looked over at Sainu, who was still looking concerned. Azula regretted her outburst a little. “How did you find this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu smiled. “While you were, well, crashing. And scaring away all the fishies -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s hardly my fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula,” Sainu laughed. “You were the one who crashed into the sea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was looking at you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what you see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but that’s not why - wait, what?” Azula stuttered, the question catching her a little off guard. “No! No, that’s not what I meant, I mean… Stop laughing!” she yelled as Sainu’s face - Sainu's absolutely gorgeous face, every colour in her eyes lit up by the hazy light, every hair on her head wet and shining, her lips just perfect in every way - burst open into loud and raucous laughter that bounced back and forth in the cave. Azula just watched her, a little shocked, a little… scared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck, she thought. She's the most beautiful thing in this cave… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And I never want to leave her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula covered her face with her hands as Sainu finally pulled herself together. “Hey, I was joking… hey," Sainu said, more softly as they both realised that Azula's face was wet, and not from the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Red, and not from Sainu's teases.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey," Sainu said again, slowly lifting Azula's hands from her eyes and squeezing them tight. "Hey, I'm sorry," she whispered, and Azula looked up to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>broken</span>
  </em>
  <span> face. Sainu looked like her whole world was being ripped to pieces, but she held onto Azula as the tears poured down into the cavern waters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Azula?" she prompted. Azula gulped down another wave, and stared into Sainu's eyes, Sainu's gorgeous eyes that seemed to contain a light of their own, and then…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kissed her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula pressed herself into Sainu and didn't let go, didn't break away, did nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>but</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sainu for minutes… hours…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whole millenia seemed insignificant compared to that moment in the cave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They broke apart. Sainu's eyes were wide with shock and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula gasped, turning away. "Fuck. I'm sorry. You didn't want that, I… I shouldn't have done that, I…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu grabbed the front of Azula's shirt, her eyes fiery. She's not into me, Azula thought. She's not into girls, she's going to tell my dad, he's going to punish me like he did to Zuko and Sainu…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu planted her lips onto Azula's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. Maybe not, Azula realised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything melted away. The weeks of Sainu joining them and Azula realising and being so scared and needing to get away from the other girl but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not being able to live without her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tasted salt. She pulled away and realised that while weeks of stress were melting away, decades of pain lay beyond for them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He's going to kill us," she whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No. Azula, no one can touch us -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't know my father."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had laid on the beach for an hour now, just watching the clouds roll by across the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula hadn't said anything as they swam back to shore, but Sainu hadn't pressed: just had swum alongside her through the clear waters and up to the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They hadn't gone back up to Hama. It hadn't occurred to either of them, but Azula got the impression that Hama would simultaneously not care where they were and know exactly where they were: a little cove, well, more of a divot, in one of the massive rock spires that jutted out of the sea like a tooth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula rolled over to face Sainu. The other girl had been looking at the clouds but turned to Azula and squeezed her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey," she said. "Everything's going to be ok."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula sighed, "No. It's not. He's going to -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He's your father. I'm sure he'll understand, I mean… he seems like a nice guy. A good father."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula laughed. "Really? I'll be sure to tell him that - I doubt he knows."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Azula… what is it about him that's so…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Terrifying? Well, he did burn half of my brother's face off and banish him for talking out of turn… what else? Oh -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait wait wait wait wait…What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula frowned, and looked over at Sainu. "You know… the scar? The burn scar? That was…" she sat up, and Sainu did too. "That was…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A training accident. We - Aiki and I and other kids in the area… we were taught that it was a training accident, and that he was banished for betraying his father… I heard nothing about </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ozai</span>
  </em>
  <span> burning him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How…" Of course, Azula realised. Only nobles had been present, and in case of Zuzu's redemption, the news of his failure to fight had been stamped out. No one knew how the enemy got hold of the information, but the ministers treated it like propaganda, and Azula guessed that was how the public received it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Father was more than happy to spread the joyous news but his ministers, especially the non-military leaders, always tried to minimise the spread. Just in case.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's… a long story," Azula said. "Zuko was in a war meeting… I don't know the details," a lie, "but he spoke out against military action. Something about wanting to save lives? In a war?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh… well, it's good he wanted to help people," Sainu said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well… yeah. But you can't do that in a war. You have to win your objectives, and… that doesn't always mean that your side will be fine. There will always be casualties." Sainu slowly nodded, and Azula continued. "But Zuko was apparently really disrespectful about it," a more true lie, from what she had heard, "and in turn, he disrespected our father."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So Ozai burnt his face and banished him?" Sainu's eyes were wide with shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, no… no, Zuko had to fight an Agni Kai for his honour."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, right."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, and during the fight, he was burnt."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"By Ozai?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I… yeah. It might have been an accident," why was she lying? They were going against her father, Sainu should know… but… Azula didn't want to…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frighten her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You idiot, she told herself. She needs to know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Azula couldn't bring herself to say it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She went on, "But he lost the Agni Kai. And so as a symbol of his shame, he shaved his head into a frankly ridiculous pony tail and set off to find the Avatar.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Sainu said, then she closed her eyes. “You know, it’s cool that Ozai knew the Avatar was out there, even before everyone else. He set his son a mission he could do so that he could come home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula did not know what to say to that. Did the outlying towns and villages </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> not know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… no. No one knew. We only found out when everyone else did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But,” Sainu sat up, opening her eyes. “So… Ozai set Zuko an impossible task? One that meant he could never…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Azula said in the silence as Sainu realised. “And that’s why we need to be careful, alright?” Azula reached over and held Sainu’s hand. “My father can’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu was silent for a few minutes. “Ok. Yeah. Ok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula breathed a sigh of relief. “I love you,” she said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh fuck, was she </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say that? Was it too early? Or should she have said it earlier? Or maybe she shouldn’t have said it at all, maybe she really fucked up this time, maybe -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” Sainu smiled, and pushed herself forward, kissing Azula hard and long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll need to be more careful than that, you know,” an old voice said a few feet away. Azula pushed Sainu away and they both scrambled to their feet as Hama walked towards them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hama! We were just… um…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kissing.” And at their worried protests, “I’m not blind. I could see you. And I heard a little. And like I said… you’ll have to be more careful when your father comes back. He doesn’t appreciate people like us,” Hama said, then clapped her hands. “Now, I suggest you two come with me to prepare lunch, and then we will go to Lira Town. But before we leave for the town, you two will pack up everything that we use and tidy the whole cavern and scale the cliffs in search of eggs. You missed out on an hour of training while you were down there doing… who knows what.” And with that, Hama turned, summoned a wave and pushed herself back to shore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula looked at Sainu. “You think…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m getting vibes,” Sainu said, smiling. “I think we’re not the only ones who have something to hide from your father.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you two coming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Hama.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everywhere they looked, the people of Lira Town were starving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t that their trade and resources were limited: on the contrary, Lira was a fishing town with a bountiful sea and the whole Nation at their doorstep. But that didn’t matter when demands and taxes were being forced upon them almost every week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Demands made by Nakida City. By extension, her brother. By extension, the Earth Kingdom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had to be stopped. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zuko</span>
  </em>
  <span> had to be stopped. After all, only a weak Firelord would listen to the demands of another nation and give all they had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>People were just lying on the streets in this village: they had houses, yes, but houses cost taxes, taxes required income, and everything they had was being taken. So the people of Lira sat on the streets as empty as their houses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was easy to find the head of the town: a tall and lean man called Hikaru that reminded Azula of a Fire Nation soldier, maybe a general…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he had been.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took the three to a small park that lay near the centre of Lira Town. A couple of trees were scattered about with a lily-pad covered pond in the middle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few benches were also littered in the park, and they sat down on one of the curved ones, so that they could all fit and face each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Hikaru said. “What can I do for such… esteemed guests? But I would like to apologise on behalf of the town for our… current affairs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula waved it away. “Hikaru, the travesties afflicting your town are hardly your fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru nodded, “All the same.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But,” Sainu continued. “There is something we could do for you. We could help your town, restore it to its former glory.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru raised an eyebrow. “That seems rather… hopeful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know of our cause?” Azula asked. Hikaru nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. The whole Fire Nation knows of you. We have heard from the Capitol that you are raging terrorists, harming innocents without a care in the world -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t harmed anybody,” Sainu whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ve got no idea,” Azula replied. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But,” Hikaru continued, “We have heard from other towns you have visited and of course, from Ma’inka Island, that you are helping the people rise up against their new leaders. So. Have you come to ask us to join your… revolution?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula hesitated. “Yes. That is why we have come, but -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid, much as our town would rally behind your cause, that we cannot help you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What? Wasn’t that… contradiction or something, Azula thought. Saying that they wanted to help but… not?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why can’t you help us?” Sainu asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru stared at her for a few moments, then let out a shocked guffaw. “You haven’t realised?” He spread his arms out, seeming to encapsulate the whole town in his reach. “We have nothing to give. Everything we have is taken every day. We have tried maintaining secret stores, but those have been discovered. We have tried working through the nights, but everything we find is taken, no matter how much it is. And then we got too weak to work at night. And now, only the strongest and the youngest can work during the daytime. We do not even have </span>
  <em>
    <span>ourselves</span>
  </em>
  <span> to give. We are the broken husks of Lira, and all we could give you is our own suffering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula leaned back on the bench, the silence of the next few minutes more overwhelming than Hikaru’s speech.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Nakida is stealing everything you have,” Hama mused, and they all looked at her. She had been silent so far; Hikaru must have thought she was too old or too deaf or something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Hama was more alive than any of them there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been standing by the pond, gazing upon the surface, but now she turned to face them. “So we’ll just have to take it all back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru laughed, and then quieted. “You’re… you’re being serious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” the waterbender replied. “I always am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… how? We can give you no one, no help and besides, the Capitol has made the city impenetrable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Against you and the other towns on the island,” Azula pointed out. “Surely not to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But that’s just it. When you escaped, all the major cities increased their security, to guard </span>
  <em>
    <span>against</span>
  </em>
  <span> you and your cause. The only reason the Capitol riots worked was because your team began a peaceful protest, which were allowed, and then attacked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Azula stopped him. “Capitol </span>
  <em>
    <span>riots</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru looked over. “Yes… the Capitol riots that have been the centre of everything since they happened two days ago… Did… did you not know? I mean no offence,” he said quickly. “But… they claimed they were working in your father’s name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, so what? Her father had been working on other plans and had simply not </span>
  <em>
    <span>told</span>
  </em>
  <span> Azula?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That makes sense, a smaller part of her brain piped up. No one can trust you anyway. Why would he?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shut up, she told herself, shaking her head to clear it. She looked up at Hikaru. “We’ve… been travelling the past few days, generally avoiding large settlements. The news hadn’t reached us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well. Now you know,” Hikaru leaned back on his side of the bench. “You can’t get into Nakida City. Security systems for, well, everything, are designed specifically to keep you out. You’d need, like, earthbenders or something…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru kept talking, but an idea had just completely hit Azula, like a slap in the face. She stood up, looking over in the direction of the Capitol.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hikaru and Sainu slowly stood up as well. “Azula?” Sainu asked. “Is… everything ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything is more than ok,” Azula grinned. She turned back to the group. “I’ve just remembered a group of… friends, who would be willing to help us… for their freedom. Who’s ready for a prison break on Capitol Island?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. An Injured City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Life was batshit crazy in the weeks that followed the riots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko hurried down the hallways, an attendee walking beside him scribbling furiously onto sheets of parchment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One more thing, Firelord," he panted slightly, trying to keep up with Zuko's pace. "What should General Osama do about civilians who are sympathetic to the riots?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I doubt she'll find any," Zuko muttered, turning down the hall that led to the infirmary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But Firelord -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fine, fine," Zuko waved away his own annoyance. He stopped in the middle of the hall to think, and the secretary slammed into him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grunted into Zuko's shoulder, then gasped, stumbling back. "Firelord, I'm so -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No no," Zuko interrupted. "Fault was with me. I should have told you I was stopping." He stared down at the ground hard as he thought, turning the problems over in his head. "Can't General Osama deal with sympathetics on her own?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She needs your approval, Firelord."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As does everything these days, Zuko thought, but he didn't put it to words. He knew what kind of stress everyone was under at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tell her to ignore them for now. If they're just conveying sympathy to the cause, then maybe they'll see later on why we are fighting against them. But unless they begin to… well… </span>
  <em>
    <span>riot</span>
  </em>
  <span>, just ignore them. I…" he faced the attendee, who was writing so fast that ink was splashing onto him. The secretary looked up as Zuko halted. "I assume General Osama doesn't need my insight of what </span>
  <em>
    <span>rioting</span>
  </em>
  <span> is."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The secretary smiled. "No, Firelord."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good. Is that all?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes Firelord. Thank you," he bowed, and Zuko bowed back, but as always, he never got used to how the person he bowed to always started suddenly when he returned the gesture: years with his ancestors must have conditioned a different kind of way at the Palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, they could very well adjust, he thought as they straightened. The secretary still loitered however, his awkwardness growing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh," Zuko muttered, dismissing the attendee with a nod. The man scurried back down the corridor, and Zuko turned towards the infirmary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord!" A voice called. Zuko sighed, turning as another secretary approached him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We need your signature. For these reforms."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko skimmed them over, signed each of the six (six?!?) pages, and returned the brush. They bowed and she left, and he walked into the infirmary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was lined with beds. As it usually was, there would be about two meters between every bed in the three ‘patient’ rooms, to avoid the spread of infection, but the riots had taken their toll on many, and now there was only a slither of space between, so that each patient could leave and re-enter their bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko had decreed that any wounded would be brought to the palace, and while the palace could have easily housed any number of wounded in its secret passageways, basements and random guest rooms that were each the size of a normal house and Zuko never saw the point of, it turned from the problem of space to the problem of practicality. All the rooms used had to be near or in the infirmary, so that healers could reach every patient as quickly as possible. The palace staff had tried to fit as many patients as possible within a minute’s walk of the infirmary, but a few patients, those with minor injuries or who were recovering well, were living comfortably in a series of guest rooms that lined the corridor adjacent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko picked his way through his injured citizens, wondering just how everything had been thrown at him so fast… Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had known the threat, known what was at stake, but the riots had just shoved his entire world view onto a bucking ostrich-horse. The threat had just seemed too… soon? Overpowering? Just not… </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> enough that Zuko hadn’t wanted to believe it existed until it was actually happening, actually attacking his city and his people and his family…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He arrived at the third room of the infirmary: the smallest, but the most spaced out of the three. Each of the patients had enough room between their beds for portable curtains to be raised between them, to allow for some privacy. In here were the patients that had almost irreparable bone damages, or crushed limbs that screamed with every move and would not stop bleeding…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And those who just wouldn’t wake up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko reached the bed on the end. From the shadows on the drifting fabric, he could see that Li and Suki were already in there…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no third figure sitting up in the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pushed open the curtains.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The whip had first struck the back of Sokka's head, the weighted tip (although Zuko would </span>
  <em>
    <span>hardly</span>
  </em>
  <span> call it a tip) cutting through skin and skull and flesh before the rest of the chain followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For that was what the whip was: a link of heavy chains with a massively weighted counterpart at the end. The counterpart was well honed, teetering on the edge of blunt and sharp to give it the most destructive capabilities, and each chain only served to bury themselves into whatever they could find.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The chain had, for the most part, passed the head and had cracked upon Sokka's shoulders, where each one had loitered for a moment before making way for the next one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was all over in an instant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the non-bender raised the whip a second time, both Li and Zuko had lashed out at her, the fire lifting her up and throwing her across the alley, where she had also just lay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had hurried over to him, but by then Sokka was already falling. He had crumpled to the ground as the blood kept pouring out. Zuko had never seen that much blood before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And still, Sokka didn't wake up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li and Suki turned as he entered. A third chair sat on the left side of the bed. Zuko lowered himself into it, raising his eyes to Suki.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nothing?" he whispered. "It's been over a week already - there must have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>… anything…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki shrugged, looking sadly down at Sokka's resting form on the bed. "The nurse said that head injuries take a while to heal… I've sent a letter to Republic City. Hopefully Katara gets it and she can come. He hasn't woken by now… I'd wager that he won't until he gets some extra healing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So we just have to wait? For Katara?" Li asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Looks like it," Zuko sighed, leaning back in his chair. Sokka looked so… peaceful just lying there - it was hard to imagine he was sick at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He groaned, and turned, but frowned as two of his generals pushed their way through the curtains to meet him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Firelord, a couple of buildings that were targeted by the rioters have just… caved in,” General Osama said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We didn't even know they were weakened," the other general, General Tam, spoke up. "The infrastructure must have been attacked by firebenders, but… we don't know how. They weren’t anywhere near the area. The buildings aren’t even in the north-east quadrant. They’re in the east, closer to the south east, even.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know those quakes that happen every so often?” Osama asked. “One happened right before. It must have been the final push.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's the damage?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We don't know yet. Many casualties - the buildings were right next to each other, and… the street they were on was being used for homing displaced people."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright. I'll be… do you want me at the buildings or somewhere else or… what's the best place for me to be?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because fuck it if he knew what his job entailed now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"At the scene, Firelord. Talking to families who have lost people in the crash, and the wounded…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko turned to Suki and Li, a question in his eyes. They nodded, getting to their feet, but Suki hesitated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Should we… should someone stay with him?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Tam spoke up, "Chief, we'll need you and Sergeant Li at the site too. We need all the forces we can get in that area, helping out."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki nodded, but still looked unsure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can ask Uncle if he wants to stay with him," Zuko suggested. "The kids are at their bending training today. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Suki nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko parted ways with the group on the third floor: when they turned right towards the main staircase and the entrance hall, he made a quick detour to the gym, where Kiyi, Iroh and Raiden were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raiden, after he and Kiyi had spent a couple of hours together in the Palace while the riots raged on, had immediately bonded with Zuko's sister. The two had, according to his poor uncle, raged their own war on the Palace and, more specifically, the kitchen. And while the two were little angels to any adult they faced, they revealed a second, more mischievous side when backs were turned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ursa and Ikem had adopted Raiden and, by extension Li, right away, and while Li had been a bit awkward around them, not really knowing his place, that had only encouraged Iroh's encouraging nature, devout sermons on the spirits and lectures how tea was the best thing ever created.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh was standing in the middle of the gym, where a maroon circle had been outlined for the teacher. Kiyi and Raiden had been placed either side and as they moved around the gym, in almost perfect form and synchronisation (a fault no one could be blamed for), small flickers of warmth dancing around them, Zuko realised just how… young they both were - too young to be… almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>preparing</span>
  </em>
  <span> for a fight - but at the same time, they both were phenomenal benders. With Kiyi, it was surprising to some but not all, as Avatar Roku had been her great-grandfather, but Raiden, much like his brother, Zuko admitted, remained a mystery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cleared his throat, and the three opened their eyes and faced him. Kiyi’s face broke out into a big grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuzu!” she yelled, running over and attaching herself to him. He smiled down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Kiyi,” he said, gently extricating himself from her bearhug. He looked up. “Hey Raiden. Uncle… could we…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is Sokka getting better, sir?” Raiden asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kiyi added “Has he woken up yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kids,” Iroh stepped in. He brought Raiden forward as they greeted Zuko. “You both did very well today. Why don’t you go down to the kitchens and ask for some fireflakes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of them seemed wondrously happy at this prospect, but they still hesitated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is Sokka ok?” Raiden repeated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we bring him some food as well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… think that he would appreciate it more if you two filled your boots,” Zuko smiled. “He’s still not feeling up to… things yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of them budged. “But -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Run along now, children. And do not worry about our friend. He will be fine. Have faith,” Iroh waved them away and the two departed. Iroh faced Zuko.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is he?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko let out a shaky breath, and sat down on the gym floor. Iroh sat down next to him. "He's… not good. The healers said that… cause you know, he hasn't woken up yet… he's unlikely to. Wake up. And Suki sent a message to Republic City for Katara but I don't think it's going to help and it's been nine </span>
  <em>
    <span>days</span>
  </em>
  <span> and four and a half hours since… since he…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Zuko…" Iroh pulled him into his arms. Zuko pressed his face against Iroh's chest and waited for it - wished for it - to all go away…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when it didn't, he let it all out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh squeezed his nephew and then held him some more until Zuko parted himself from his uncle, wiping his face clean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Zuko, you must have faith in this," Iroh said softly. "Sokka </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> wake and he will get better but it won't be easy. It will take time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko sighed. "Yeah… I know. I just -"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No. No wishes." Iroh smiled sadly, "Now. Where are you off to now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko remembered why he had come, and he quickly stood up, and Iroh followed suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm… ah… I need to go. Um… actually I came to ask… could you watch over him? Just… in case?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh hugged him. "Of course. Now," he released his nephew and stepped back. "Go."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They heard it before they saw it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sounds of human fragility: screams, crying, shouting for people to find them, to rescue them, to help them heal…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or to help them in other ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they began to pass citizens sprawled across pathways and roads, General Tam excused himself to help direct authorities around the area, and General Osama, Suki, Li and Zuko rounded the final corner and beheld the tragedy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little clouds of dust rose from beneath the crash, snaking around stray rocks and timbres. It almost looked like a great dragon had taken a massive bite but had spat it back out, not liking the texture (a decision which Zuko would have had to agree with). Families, couples, children, elderly - they all sat on whatever they could find, clutching each other, sharing in their grief. White tents lined one side of the street where the injured were being treated: Zuko saw patches of blood and flashes of white bone, heard the cracks and cries shattered bodies and turned away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other side of the street lay a row of sleepers, the sheets drawn above their faces, with no one to see them and no one to lift the sheet so they could feel the sun one last time…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” a voice said, startling him. Zuko turned to find a hand on his shoulder. Li looked up at him. “We’ll find out how this happened. Maybe…” he gestured to the grief around him. “Maybe bring some… closure. For these people.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the city,” Suki said. “Everyone’s going to know someone involved…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko turned to General Osama. “Alright. Run me through this. Everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well,” she replied, clearing her throat. “This area was chosen to house displaced people from the riots as it was far enough away to not have been targeted but close enough so families could adjust more easily and get back on track. Just past eleven, a quake went through the city again. A few minutes later, the buildings went down. We know that these buildings must have been weakened somehow because all buildings in the Capitol are built to withstand the regular quakes, but as no rioters reached this location, we have no idea how they were weakened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Were all the rioters captured?” Suki asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Those who weren’t captured or… otherwise incapacitated, fled the city through the Northern Gate or the harbour. Most of the military leaders assumed that accounted for all of them but now, I’m not so sure. Maybe a couple melted in with the citizens and then attacked, but there was a lot of activity in this area, both civilian and military. Anyone sabotaging the buildings would have been noticed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li frowned. “Is the area safe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The building itself has been sectioned off, but we brought medical aid to the site. The building shouldn’t trouble us any further, but we have cautioned against going near it for the time being.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if another quake comes? Shouldn’t we evacuate the area? General?” Li added quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Osama raised an eyebrow. “You wanna try moving all these people, Sergeant?” She swept her hand towards the set up tents, her hand somehow emphasising the shining instruments, the stained bodies, the bloody sheets…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko nodded quickly, turning back to her. “Thank you, General.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Osama nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to find my colonels and arrange for more support to come into the area.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” They bowed and the general left. Zuko turned to Suki and Li.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any theories?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li shook his head, looking concernedly at the buildings, but Suki said, “Not a theory, but maybe they didn’t attack recently? Maybe during the riots?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t have,” Zuko countered. “This quake is probably the third one since then, and if they were weakened before, then those quakes would have collapsed the buildings.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or the quakes beforehand just pushed the weakening buildings along on their path. Maybe… maybe no one sabotaged them, Zuko. Maybe they were just old or -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But they weren’t old! Look! They’re in the south-east quadrant, which was partially destroyed during the Day of Black Sun, so all of these buildings are new. How could it have not been sabotaged?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko,’ Suki said, grabbing his hands and bringing them back in front of him - when had they </span>
  <em>
    <span>moved</span>
  </em>
  <span>? “I know that it seems like sabotage, and it very may well be, but you need to be calmer.” Zuko glanced around - no one had seemed to have heard but… she was right. He couldn’t spread panic. “You need to look at it like it wasn’t sabotage until we have facts. If you go around yelling that it was a deliberate attack, you are going to rile up the whole city and then what? What will you do if it’s not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it is,” Zuko whisper-shot back. “It </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be. There’s no other way!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down,” Suki cautioned, moving her hands to his shoulders. “Let’s look into this further. I think we should take a closer look at the building and then -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone screamed: Zuko and Suki whirled towards the buildings as a massive block of timbre began to slide…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A group of families had been sheltering right next to the sectioned-off buildings, but they began to run away as the timbre teetered on the edge of the shattered floor…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They would make it, Zuko saw, relief filling him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then a little face clambered out from the wreckage. A kid, probably having gone off exploring the damage but now as he followed the fleeing, his foot caught and sent him sprawling. He cried out as the piece of timbre leaned over and began to fall…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka loved the feeling of his head being torn apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, he felt it often, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>… This was something different.. Something stronger - wait, why was everything dark?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh… his eyes were still shut. He should probably open them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah fuck! Light? No no no no no, he thought, flinging his hands in front of his face -ah, it burned. He didn’t like this - why was everything sore?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… Actually, his feet were alright.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And his legs. And abs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ok, so just his arms and head and back hurt. That’s still a lot of things hurting with no explanation…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waited… and waited some more but… all he felt in his hands was a slight tingling. He cautiously moved each finger, and then rolled his wrists, slowly. It felt weird, yes, but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>painful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He lowered his arms from his face, blinking furiously so he could adjust to the light. Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> hurt a bit but it wasn’t his arms, he realised. It was that his arms were attached to his back, which hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m a genius, he thought. His eyes were fully adjusted to his surroundings now: a white curtain surrounded his bed, which wasn’t normal - where was he?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An… infirmary. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The</span>
  </em>
  <span> infirmary. The Palace infirmary, third floor, second hallway on the right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> where he was, why would he be in an infirmary?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe because you’re in a lot of pain? A small voice spoke up from the back of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Genius!</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Well, he couldn’t stay here. He remembered something big was happening, something </span>
  <em>
    <span>important</span>
  </em>
  <span> but he couldn’t remember quite what it was…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Screams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Smoking buildings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marks burnt on the walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai’s mark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The riots.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka swung his legs out of the bed, then cried out as his back seized up on him. Groaning, he leaned forward slightly, rolling and popping his back (maybe he pulled a muscle?) but that only seemed to hurt it more, so he stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What happened to me? he wondered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t stay here, he couldn’t. There were riots, fights, people in danger…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to help. He tried to push himself up from the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His back did not approve, and he fell backwards with another cry, burns and cuts seeming to swell up from nowhere…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a calm voice broke through his mind. Someone had walked through the curtains: he turned his head slightly, wincing, and saw…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uncle Iroh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh hurried over, gently turning him so he would be more comfortable, but Sokka pushed his hand away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… wait wait wait - I can’t stay here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why? Why do you think? The riots? We have to go help -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The riots ended over a week ago,” Iroh said gently, eyes a bit sad even though he smiled. “You don’t have to worry about them anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… how? I was… what? What…” Oh shit, he realised, but didn’t want to check but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, he lifted a hand up to his head. A soft fabric had been bound tightly around it, and as he looked down, he could see more binding his upper chest but he didn’t think it was his chest that was the problem.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up at Iroh, the lines telling more stories of grief than Sokka knew he’d ever felt. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Uncle opened his mouth to answer, an orderly stepped into the room, and her mouth fell open. “What are you doing out of bed?” she demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! It’s the same with all you fighters, isn’t it? You never give yourself time to heal, well! You don’t have a choice, back into bed, go go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Ok…” Sokka back-pedalled through the sheets until he felt the pillow behind him -</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Lie down,” she ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah sure, but can I -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. You cannot. You need to stay there and rest. You’ve been through a horrible ordeal -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One which I don’t know what it is,” Sokka muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you need rest,” she emphasised, going on as if nothing had interrupted her, then she started. “You… don’t know what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shook his head. “I… can’t remember. I remember the riots, and… uh… sewers?” He thought he remembered sewers. And something had happened down there… lightning?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lightning bending. Li could lightningbend. And he had trapped the energy! This was great, he -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Probably shouldn’t share it just yet, he realised. Li hadn’t wanted anyone to know…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah, Sewers… and then there was a fight, and then… uh…” Darkness? And a lot of pain and then… he didn’t feel anything. He looked up at Uncle. “Are you saying I was out for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>week</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nine days and… oh, six hours, to be precise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shut his eyes. Do I want to know what happened? he thought. Or is it better to just… not know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Curiosity won out in the end however. It always did with him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Stressful Plans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hi im back with a chapter that may be shit, idk, but here it is, have fun :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ok, Azula, but for that to actually work…” Sainu pondered. “One, you’d need to break into the prison on Capitol Island - well actually first, you’d need to get to Capitol Island - then get into the prison, then see if these guys even <em> want </em> to help, then break out and get off the island… and we haven’t even started on Nakida!”</p><p>“It does seem like a lot,” Azula admitted. “But once they’ve joined us, they’ll be useful in so many more ways! They’re elite, they’re powerful earthbenders, they move as a unit - perfect for any operation.”</p><p>“Perfect for any operation except getting out of their own prison cells.” Hama’s withered voice somehow carried the most weight, echoing around the cavern. “That’s your job - are you up to the task?”</p><p>Azula frowned. “Yes, I’m up for the task! I broke my father out of Capitol Island -”</p><p>“That was before the entire Nation went on a maximum security alert,” Hama pointed out.</p><p>“Even so!”</p><p>“Are they even <em> on </em> Capitol Island?” Sainu asked. Azula whirled around to her, the sand shifting beneath her feet. She was supposed to be on my side, she thought grimly.</p><p>“That’s the only place they could be! All the other Fire Nation prisons are a mix of earth and metal - useless for holding them! They’re <em> earthbenders! </em> Now, the prison on Capitol Island has cells purely made out of metal, so that’s where they’ll -”</p><p>“What about that other prison you told me about?” Sainu frowned. Azula stared at her incredulously - would they even let her finish? “You know… the one your brother broke out of?”</p><p>“What - oh… The Boiling Rock.” Azula thought about this for a moment. It would be a good place to put them, she admitted. The cells, almost the entire structure, were metal.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>“The actual island is earth, and so is the crater around it. They’d be able to get out, even though it’s mostly metal.”</p><p>“Then… how did your brother get out? I thought there was an earthbender on their team - not including the Avatar, of course. Is that how they did it?” Hama queried.</p><p>“No. It was… another member of their team.” Azula reached for a different issue to pursue. The Boiling Rock held some bad memories. “And anyways,” she continued, finding one. “It’s built to keep firebenders in. And out. As are all of our prisons. But… it might be a good place to visit later,” she added, somewhat reluctantly. In truth, she never wanted to see that place, but it had value. “That jail’s full of Fire Nation enemies to the crown: my darling brother. It’d be good to recruit them.”</p><p>“Then maybe we should visit as many Fire Nation prisons as possible. We never know who we’ll find,” Hama said.</p><p>Sainu and Azula nodded. Azula walked over the opening of the cave, and then back to their fire, then back to the opening.</p><p>And then back to the fire.</p><p>She continued in this fashion for a few more minutes, trying to unravel her memories to find something of use. </p><p>Maybe they could use Hama in the sewer system to transport them to the prison… but no, the pipes were too small, designed so that prisoners couldn’t use them in an escape.</p><p>What about the inlet on the island? The small, protected cove could be used as a base, but the prison was a good hour’s walk away. They wouldn’t be able to get back in time. They mightn’t have time to even <em> get </em> to the prison.</p><p>Maybe the Dai Li could bend their way from the prison to the cove… that would definitely cut time, but it would also create a lot of mayhem, and alert the island to their presence.</p><p>Unless they were already distracted. What if my friend in the city helped, she thought. He could begin another riot… although it might be harder for him now that the first one had happened. Her father shouldn’t have ordered the first one, she thought bitterly. It made no sense… they weren’t ready, they needed the riots when they had a stronger force so that they could attack on multiple fronts, why…</p><p>What are you thinking? she scolded herself. Father knows what he’s doing… you don’t question him. You follow.</p><p>But she still didn’t agree.</p><p>A night raid would be best, so maybe if the riot began around sundown… that might work, but she would need a strong force to break into the prison. Herself, obviously, then Hama, and…</p><p>Not Sainu, a voice said. What if something goes wrong?</p><p>She needs to get out there. She’ll face danger at some point - she’s with <em> you </em>.</p><p>If something goes wrong, it’ll be your fault.</p><p>I know. I know. She closed her eyes, leaning against the opening of the cave. But everything seems to be my fault these days…</p><p>“Azula, come over here,” Sainu moaned. She looked over at her: Sainu was stretched out near the fire, lying on her back and staring back at her. Her thick eyelashes flicked over her eyes as she lay her head back.</p><p>Azula walked over and lay down next to her. Immediately, Sianu whined, “Eeeigh!”</p><p>Azula started. “What… what the fuck was that?”</p><p>“You - ehhg - blocking the fire! I’m coooooold!”</p><p>“What? Oh, you - fine!” Azula grunted. She went to pick herself up, then stopped. Hang on, she thought, smiling. She rolled over onto her stomach, then lifted herself up and planted herself again.</p><p>On top of Sainu.</p><p>“Ah! What are you doing - oof!” the breath left Sainu as Azula sank down onto her.</p><p>“Oooh you’re so <em> warm </em>! You’re like a heater!”</p><p>“You’re coooold, get off!”</p><p>“But if I stay here, I’ll get warm.”</p><p>“Aaaaah, why are you like this,” Sainu groaned. Azula smiled.</p><p>“I just am.” And then she closed her eyes and fell asleep.</p><p> </p><p>“Azula…” Sainu’s voice was distant, so Azula drew it closer. Then, “Azula!”</p><p>“Ugh… what?” Azula pushed herself up from the ground. Now that was wrong, she thought, then remembered: she had fallen asleep on top of Sainu. </p><p>Where was she?</p><p>She whipped her head around, the bright fire scorching her eyes. She hurriedly blinked the spots away.</p><p>Sainu was crouched next to her, a blanket in her arms. “You’re dad’s almost here.”</p><p>Oh… fuck, ok.</p><p>Azula nodded blearily, sitting up more, leaning a bit into Sainu for support as she began to fully wake up. The cave shifted into focus as the clouds cleared from her eyes. The fire was still dancing in the darkness, illuminating the ragged rocks around them. Hama’s form withered on the other side of the fire, her bright eyes surveying the two girls.</p><p>Sitting perfectly still and with all the little nooks and crannies that littered her body, she looked almost like another spire of rock, Azula noticed, but then they all turned as a group of men entered the cave.</p><p>“Aiki!” Sainu exclaimed. Aiki grinned and hurried over, sliding down onto the sand to embrace his friend. He went to Azula and hesitated slightly, not knowing if Azula would want a hug, so Azula stuck out her fist. He smiled, bumping it with his own before settling down next to them. He looked exhausted, but happy to be back.</p><p>A man Azula had never seen before entered the cave, along with her father. Like Aiki, they looked shattered, but as they neared the fire, their expressions shifted to a more serious tone, one that meant business.</p><p>Planning time, Azula smiled, leaning forward in anticipation.</p><p>“Azula, Hama, Sainu,” Ozai nodded to each of them. “This is Akito. He’s from Wantu Town, but he speaks with the authority of Bhuli Town as well.”</p><p>Akito bowed to the women. “Both Wantu and Bhilu Towns are eager to assist in any way we can, however it is a bit… difficult at the moment,” he admitted, sounding a bit ashamed.</p><p>Azula nodded. “We know of your troubles. Lira Town is also undergoing their fair share of hardships.” Akito nodded gratefully, and as he and Ozai sat, Hama began to pass around empty wooden bowls - Azula only now noticed that the heat of the flames was still going strong because of the massive cauldron above - before bending the soup towards everyone.</p><p>Akito dropped his bowl in surprise, looking as though he would flee right then and there. “You’re… you’re a waterbender!”</p><p>“Indeed.”</p><p>“But - how? I mean…” he frantically looked over at Ozai. “Isn’t she -”</p><p>“Akito, please sit,” Ozai reached up and laid a calming hand on Akito’s forearm. Akito, still looking quite shocked, sat. Ozai patted him on the back as he continued, “I know it may seem… unusual, but Hama has proved herself to be a true ally in our cause. She has no love for the Firelord, nor the Avatar or their friends. Hama’s abilities will surely come in use in our upcoming battles, and I see no reason why she shouldn’t be with us in victory.”</p><p>Ozai’s speech seemed to calm Akito, but Azula felt a bit… disturbed. He was speaking so… reassuringly? No… respectfully? His tone and his words felt alien to her. He had never spoken to her like this, never to Zuko, not even to his wife or brother. Only to Azulon when he still lived, and even then his words were laced with his ambitions.</p><p>Was it like earlier, when they helped Sainu and Aiki’s village clear the river instead of just rallying them to their cause? He wanted to do things… differently, he had said.</p><p>This wasn’t just different. This was a whole new level of disparate, and Azula didn’t know if she liked it or not.</p><p>Ozai turned back to them. “We know that Nakida is being controlled by officials directly from the Capitol, and that even some of <em> their </em> citizens are suffering. Now, I have a plan as to how we will secure the city and the resources this island has to offer. I have already laid out my plans for a harbour at this beach, and Akito has told us of a forge up at Bhilu Town: a factory where we can manufacture weaponry at a much faster rate. And the amount of firebenders each town has to offer is incredible - and who knows how many we’ll find in Nakida City!”</p><p>Azula and Sainu nodded, listening intently. It seemed the only person enjoying Hama’s creation at the moment was Aiki, who like always, was shovelling the food into his mouth. Azula did not know where it all went. Aiki was extremely fit but small as well, around Azula’s height, something Sainu had taken to teasing her about, which was extremely unfair, as was the four inches Sainu had on her.</p><p>“... sewer system in Nakida City is quite intricate,” Ozai’s voice brought her back to the present. “My idea was that we could contact our… contact, in Nakida City. I… I assume you can still reach them?” Ozai turned to Akito. He nodded.</p><p>“She’s quite good at infiltration, getting information to us, remaining uncaught.”</p><p>“Good to know. We’d ask her to rally up as many of Nakida’s citizens as possible, before we infiltrate the city through their sewers at night.”</p><p>“Te ony probwem is dat der shewer shystim is witerady o marze.” Azula vaguely made out some words as Aiki spoke around his food. They all turned to him, confused, so he swallowed his food and repeated. “The only problem is that their sewer system is literally a maze.”</p><p>“Er… yes,” Ozai said slowly. “However, I believe I have a solution.”</p><p>Azula smiled, knowing her own would be the same as her father’s. She said, “Dai Li agents,” the moment Ozai said, “Hama.”</p><p>A moment of stunned silence filled the cave as Ozai regarded his daughter. “What did you say?”</p><p>“Oh! Um… well, I said, uh, Dai Li agents, but your solution is probably easier -”</p><p>“Yeah it’s easier, but…” Azula could see Ozai rolling the idea around his mind. “The amount of time that will be saved in construction,” he murmured, then refocused. “The people of Kosuki Island need a faster solution. Breaking out the agents would take weeks of preparation, and we don’t have that.”</p><p>“Why would we need weeks of prep?” Hama asked. Ozai turned to her.</p><p>“Well, we’d need to figure out where they are first, get a team together, make sure they could get back to a safe place, make sure that there are multiple plans in case something goes wrong… the usual?”</p><p>Hama shook her head. “Why don’t we just go? Azula has a plan.”</p><p>“Does she?”</p><p>Azula balked under her father’s gaze, but as Sainu nodded, so did she. “Yes. Myself, Hama, Sainu and Aiki can go to Capitol Island and break them out.”</p><p>“Are they <em> on </em> Capitol Island?”</p><p>“They can’t be keeping them anywhere else in the Fire Nation.”</p><p>“Has it occurred to you,” Ozai spoke slowly, as if he was addressing a child. Azula hated it. “That the Fire Nation may have sent the agents back to the Earth Kingdom to be punished?”</p><p>Azula’s heart plummeted. Of course, that made so much <em> sense! </em> Why hadn’t you thought of that? she scolded herself. Now he thinks you are nothing but a child.</p><p>“I don’t think they would have done that,” Hama spoke into the silence. Azula whipped around to her, trying to stop her. Father’s going to punish her too, she thought, but Hama continued on, “If they were to send those who had wronged them back to their nation to be punished, why was I kept on an island in the Fire Nation? I know that the circumstances were different,” she added as Ozai went to speak. “But Azula believes they are on Capitol Island, and I trust your daughter’s instincts. As should you.”</p><p>Oh fuck, they were really going to get it now, Azula shut her eyes against the oncoming wrath.</p><p>But it didn’t come.</p><p>Ozai considered Hama for a few moments, then nodded. “I will think on it. We will need the Dai Li agents, but I am not sure that breaking them out now will be of greater use to us. You will need to distract the eyes of the Capitol,” he addressed Azula. “How would you do that?”</p><p>“You… heard of the riot? In the Capitol?”</p><p>“Yes, Akito told us of it on our journey back. Next time you make a command like that, could you clear it with me first?”</p><p>Azula blinked. “I didn’t authorise it.”</p><p>Ozai frowned. “Interesting. It must have been General Mung. Our general on Ma’inka Island,” he added for Hama and Akito’s sake. “I’ll talk to him later about the strike, but you were saying? You want another riot?”</p><p>“Yes. A bigger one this time. We can get in touch with our man in the city and start another one just before sundown on the day we break in, then we can leave during the night.”</p><p>Ozai nodded, then turned to Akito. “The mission would take a few days.”</p><p>Akito nodded. “Firelord, we would need the time anyway to prepare ourselves for the infiltration. I am in favour of this plan.” He smiled at Azula, and she smiled back shyly.</p><p>Ozai thought further. “Very well. You four will go, but no one else. We need to organise these towns, and I can’t afford for any more to go with you.” And with that, he stood. Akito stood quickly with him, putting his bowl down. He seemed to enjoy the meal, Azula eyed his empty bowl. She took a sip of the contents of her own - lukewarm now, but absolutely mouthwatering.</p><p>“Akito needs to get back to Wantu to discuss the plan with his town, as well as Bhuli and Lira. Hama, would you assist us in this? Aiki as well.”</p><p>Hama nodded, rising gracefully while Aiki blundered his way up, before jumping to his feet and almost falling over. He quickly shuffled his feet around Azula and Sainu’s bodies before finishing his little dance and hurrying out to the boat to prepare it. Sainu chuckled at her friend’s clumsiness while Ozai sighed and Akito and Hama walked out in silence, and finally they were alone.</p><p> </p><p>Azula snuggled closer to Sainu,  slurping another noodle into her mouth. Sainu laughed. “I thought you were raised in a palace!”</p><p>“Uh… yes?”</p><p>“Your manners are terrible.”</p><p>“Oh, well excuse me, your royal highness, but as of now, I do not do the whole ‘manners’ thing!”</p><p>“Why, darling Azula! That is scandalous behaviour!” Sainu bopped her on the nose with her chopstick, leaving a streak of sauce. Sainu looked at it for a second before cackling.</p><p>“Hey - stop! You’re the one with no manners,” Azula grumbled, trying in vain to dry her nose with her hand, but her hand was also covered in the sauce, so she just made the problem worse.</p><p>“Oh… Azula,” Sainu smiled sympathetically down at her. “Here.” She whipped her tongue out, so fast Azula didn’t know it was out, until it was licking off the sauce.</p><p>“I - Sainu! Ah, what are you doing?”</p><p><em> Lick </em>. “Cleaning.” Another lick.</p><p>“Sainu. I want you to know that that is the weirdest thing that has ever happened.”</p><p>“Noted.” And then she kissed her.</p><p>Azula sank into the kiss, closing her eyes against Sainu’s soft lips, and then her tongue was in her mouth, <em> tasting </em> what her girlfriend had just devoured.</p><p>“Mm… what are you doing?” Sainu breathed.</p><p>“Cleaning.”</p><p>And then they were back at it again.</p><p>“Hey guys, have you seen my knife - oh…”</p><p>Azula broke off Sainu: they both whipped around to see Aiki standing at the entrance of the cave, looking incredibly awkward.</p><p>“Aiki!” Sainu yelped, blushing a deep red.</p><p>“I wasn’t… I didn’t mean… I’ll go, hold on…”</p><p>“Wait!” Azula leapt up. Aiki took a step back from the fire in Azula’s eyes, and the desperation. ‘You can’t tell my father.”</p><p>“Woah, ok, don’t worry! I wasn’t going to -’</p><p>“Aiki. I’m serious. He can’t know. <em> No one </em> can.”</p><p>“I…” his voice faltered as he stared at Azula, and then Sainu. It hardened again, “I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t out someone, ever. Trust me.”</p><p>“I do,” Sainu said softly. Azula looked back at her, and then back at Aiki, waves of relief slamming into her. She sighed.</p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Don’t be. <em> I’m </em> sorry,” Aiki added. Azula nodded, and then looked around the cave.</p><p>“Here,” she crouched down, picking up Aiki’s small carving knife. She rose and handed it to him. Aiki grasped it, turning to leave, and then he stopped.</p><p>“Your secret’s safe with me. I promise. I’m happy for you,” he grinned. “Even if I now owe you ten silvers,” he added, and then he was gone.</p><p>Azula turned back to Sainu. “Ten silvers?”</p><p>“We had a bet,” she leant back, smiling. “First one of us to get a girlfriend.”</p><p>“Oh, so I’m worth ten silvers, am I?”</p><p>“No, only about three. I’m worth the other seven,” Sainu grinned, grabbing Azula’s hand and dragging her back down. She yelped as she crashed onto the sand, the fountains of sand spewing into Sainu’s chuckling mouth. She groaned, spitting out grains as Azula laughed herself.</p><p>“That’s your punishment.”</p><p>“That didn’t seem like a punishment,” Sainu smiled, the last of the sand out. She stretched back in the sand. “Maybe there’s… something you could do?”</p><p>Azula stared down at her for a few moments in stunned silence. Was this really happening right now? Sainu raised an eyebrow. “Have I mentioned that you look dashing in red?”</p><p>Azula smirked, leaning forward. “You have. We have a couple of hours until they return. I reckon I can… punish you a little.”</p><p>And then she descended on her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Falling Bones</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The timbre slammed into the cobblestones, quaking the world around it as dust rose up in a haunting cloud.</p><p>But when Zuko and Suki had reached the timbre, the kid wasn’t there. Zuko fervently looked around through the still dissipating dust cloud and saw to his left two dark shapes huddled on the ground. And as the dust finally disappeared, the crowds began to appear again.</p><p>Li slowly rolled off the kid into a sitting position and helped the kid stand. “You ok?” he asked softly.</p><p>The kid didn’t reply at first, just stared blankly at the timbre that would have spelled the end for him. A sharp cry from the gathering crowds seemed to shock the boy out of his imagination, which Zuko suspected was now a little darker.</p><p>"Botan!" A man pushed his way through the crowds, followed by an equally distressed guard.</p><p>"Botan! Oh spirits, are you alright?" the guard clutched onto the boy, and as Li let go and stood a few steps back, Botan practically melted into the guard's arms.</p><p>The first man looked back at Li, wonder and delight and relief flooding his eyes. "You… you saved our boy's life… how can we repay you?"</p><p>Li flushed as every eye turned to him. He blustered, "Oh… I mean… I don't need any…  he's ok - I mean, it's, um…" he wildly looked over at Zuko and Suki for help. Suki stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>"Sergeant Li, as are we all, are content with the knowledge that your son is safe," she began, bowing to the couple. The men bowed back, and Suki turned to the crowds. "However, I think we have all just seen that this area is still unstable, and we need to move you all out of this area. You will -" Suki raised her voice as the crowds began to mutter, some argue while others began to move their families away. "You will all have to evacuate the area immediately!"</p><p>"Where are we to go then, huh? Ozai's trying to kill everyone in the city! What do you want us to do - <em> leave </em> the city?" A woman yelled from the crowd, and while some tried to silence her, still others agreed and their voices rose even louder.</p><p>Zuko stepped forward, and the entire crowd quieted. He started, just looking at the crowd in equal silence.</p><p>Oh wait, I'm the Firelord now. He cleared his throat.</p><p>“You will all be able to find housing within the Palace walls,” he began. He glanced over at Suki, Li and his generals, trying to gage their reactions, but they looked positive, so he went on. “The first floor is currently being used as an infirmary to care for people injured in the riots. Any further injuries can be treated there, and all those who have just been displaced, you will be able to find quarters on the first and second floors.” That would, with a bit of luck, work, he thought. There were so many empty rooms in the palace, and although their original purpose may have not been for people staying in them, at a pinch they would do fine. He stepped back to stand next to Suki and Li as General Osama, thankfully, stepped forward.</p><p>“Everyone please remain calm and stick with your families during the moving. The injured will go first and up the main streets towards the palace, followed by everyone else. Do not get in the way of any healers or stretchers…”</p><p>“The palace should probably be told that these people are coming,” General Tam leaned in.</p><p>“Oh! Right, good idea,” Zuko realised. He glanced quickly around for a messenger bird, but General Tam was already beckoning over a small girl. She looked around ten.</p><p>The girl nodded as a greeting as she neared, and Zuko immediately knew that despite her looks, she was a lot older and a lot cockier than first glance.</p><p>Zuko liked that.</p><p>“Aya. Go run up to the palace and inform them of the evacuation,” General Tam ordered. </p><p>“Find my uncle,” Zuko interjected. “He’ll know what to do.”</p><p>Aya nodded, and took off, ducking into little alleys to manoeuvre the crowd. Occasionally, Zuko saw her head pop though the parting crowds before it was swallowed up again by the figures that towered above her.</p><p>Tam excused himself to help the evacuation, and the three of them looked towards the buildings.</p><p>Li spoke up, “I think this wasn’t an accident.” They both turned to Suki as she considered, Zuko trying his best to look convincing. She nodded.</p><p>“We’ve already had people looking around the building, but they can’t find any sign of sabotage…”</p><p>“It’s not ground level,” Li said. “I think it’s under.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nine days?”</p><p>“You’ve asked that around four times now,” Raiden noted. Sokka raised an eyebrow at his and Kiyi’s forms spread out on the bottom of his bed.</p><p>“Yes… It’s… A lot to take in,” he replied. Raiden shrugged, rolling over a little to lie on his back.</p><p>Iroh passed him a small cup of tea, which he took gratefully.</p><p>“Do you know where Zuko and Suki and Li are?”</p><p>Iroh nodded, “A couple of buildings collapsed. A lot of people were injured, but it’s… strange…”</p><p>“How so?”</p><p>“The buildings were in the south-east quadrant. They were built quite recently, and all of the buildings in this city can withstand the quakes.”</p><p>“Would be very chaotic if they couldn’t.”</p><p>“Yes, and these specific ones? Only built a few years back. They were destroyed…”</p><p>“Because you invaded the Capitol,” Raiden and Kiyi chorused happily. Sokka smiled, rubbing the back of his head. Bops of pain rippled through him.</p><p>“I remember <em> that </em>,” he said wryly. “For two Fire Nation kids, you seem very happy learning about how we almost won the war a couple of months early.”</p><p>Kiyi shrugged. “I don’t know much about what happened, I wasn’t there.”</p><p>“Fair.”</p><p>“I was there!” Raiden spoke up. “It was quite fun. I got to run around the volcano.”</p><p>“Oooooh, were you in a volcano?”</p><p>“Yeah, I was! We went in there during the invasion because no one could firebend!”</p><p>“Can you show me?” Kiyi practically yelled, and Sokka grimaced, putting a hand to his head. The sounds of exuberant seven-year-olds were not helping anything, although it was kind of cute.</p><p>Mental health was being helped. Slightly. Everything else, on the other hand…</p><p>Iroh noticed his gesture - Iroh noticed <em> everything </em> - and ushered the kids off the bed. “Why don’t you two go and explore the palace for a bit?”</p><p>“Aw!” they chorused.</p><p>“I want to stay with Sokka!”</p><p>“Yeah!”</p><p>“Sokka’s feeling a bit tired…”</p><p>“... Yes.” Sokka started. “Very tired.” He yawned.</p><p>Iroh looked at him, a little exasperated by his poor acting skills, but, Sokka thought, in his defence, how you acted depended on your performance, and luckily for him, Kiyi and Raiden appreciated his efforts. They shrugged.</p><p>“Okaaaaay… See you later?”</p><p>“You bet,” he smiled, and the two bounced out of the little curtain room.</p><p>Sokka took a sip of his tea as Iroh sank back into his chair. They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the phenomenon. Sokka supposed the other patients were enjoying it too: he heard a few contented sighs, a few yawns and a few conversations begin again, although quietly.</p><p>“Were the buildings’ sabotaged?” Sokka asked. Iroh looked over at him.</p><p>“Whether they were or not, I think that you should focus on getting some rest. Let the others deal with this…”</p><p>Sokka raised an eyebrow at him. “Uncle, you know that that’s not possible for me.”</p><p>Iroh conceded the point. “I can’t see how it wouldn’t be sabotaged, but the area was very crowded. Anyone destroying parts of the building up would have been seen and stopped.”</p><p>“You said they collapsed?” Iroh nodded. “How?”</p><p>“They caved in on each other. I haven’t seen the damage, but apparently it’s great.”</p><p>“It would be…” Sokka thought for a moment. “Do you know one building collapsed and then another one did?” Iroh shook his head.</p><p>“There was a quake apparently, and then they collapsed, but the sabotage must have been after the riots happened because there have been quakes since and they only fell over now.”</p><p>Sokka frowned. “Maybe some rioters didn’t get out of the city, and decided to do one last attack.”</p><p>Iroh shrugged. “They would have been seen.”</p><p>“No, they wouldn’t have,” Sokka started to smile despite the situation. “They wouldn’t have because they wouldn’t have been above ground.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is disgusting.”</p><p>Li was standing at the opening of a man-hole. He beckoned for them to come closer, but Zuko stepped away. “I am not getting anywhere near that shit.”</p><p>“Oh, come on,” Li groaned. “Don’t you want to know what happened?”</p><p>“Yes, but…” Zuko drew himself up to the level of dignity he thought he possessed. “I’m getting changed first.”</p><p>Li turned away as Suki tried to stifle a laugh. Zuko’s dignity, he realised, was now gone. He sighed.</p><p>“Come on, guys! This is a good robe! My tailor will kill me…”</p><p>Li and Suki were no longer trying to hide their amusement. “People are dying, Zuko,” Li pointed out.</p><p>“And I will be too if I get this dirty.”</p><p>Suki sighed, a smile still playing on her lips, but she pushed him away towards the palace. “Go on then.”</p><p>“I’ll be like, five minutes!” he called as he began to sprint. Suki and Li turned to each other as he disappeared around a corner.</p><p>“Wanna bet?”</p><p>“I have complete faith in our Firelord. To bet on his late return would be foolhardy and an insult to his character and position.”</p><p>“Four silvers.”</p><p>“Done.”</p><p> </p><p>Aang was not having a good day and it was all to do with birds.</p><p>Birds, as he had been told numerous times throughout the day, were migrating animals that could very well be native or not to the land, but they would always be there, wherever you were to go.</p><p>And they had no regard for human civilisation and sanity. At all. They flew around Republic City, doing their business as they pleased, and while this was a problem with many cities and they had dealt with it in turn, it was becoming apparent that this solution would not be found for a long time.</p><p>Aang leaned back in his chair, the two front legs lifting into the air. He could sense the distaste the other, significantly older, ministers in the room were giving off at him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t understand why they needed a full day of discussions to decide how best to sanitise the city from bird shit. Just send in a couple of waterbenders, he thought as they continued. It doesn’t have to be this hard.</p><p>But it did. Even something as simple as cleaning had to be a power-grab for these people. They had called a full council meeting, which was just ridiculous. It wasn’t even an emergency or anything! They hadn’t even called one when Ozai’s escape became public knowledge. The Earth Kingdom ministers had quietly let the matter stew among the residents of the city while the Fire Nation officials tried desperately to minimise the effects in the area.</p><p>And it had worked, for a little while. Until the riot happened.</p><p>They still didn’t know the full details - just little scraps of knowledge that had filtered their way through traders. There was an occasional letter that he and Katara had managed to dredge up from the others. Suki, obviously, was their correspondent. While Sokka would tell the best story, he would never remember to do it in the jungles of his mind, and Zuko was just too busy, so Katara had harassed Suki before she left, and Suki tried to oblige every couple of days, but she hadn’t said anything about the riots, which hopefully meant there wasn’t much to say.</p><p>“... And so this task should be in the hands of Earth Kingdom workers,” Minister Toro finished, the other Earth Ministers politely applauding in agreement.</p><p>“Ok, but that was a terrible argument,” a Fire Nation official spoke up.</p><p>Can you not, Aang thought, but it was too late. Both nations riled up against each other, scrambling to claim this one random task that would raise their status and power in the city by perhaps a centimetre. He groaned, shutting his eyes for a moment…</p><p>“Avatar Aang,” a voice spoke into his ear. He jerked awake.</p><p>“I’m awake!” he said suddenly, but thankfully his somewhat loud cry wasn’t heard over the rabble that was <em> still happening </em>. Ugh. He rubbed his eyes gently. “I’m awake,” he repeated, a little softer.</p><p>“I can see that,” Hakoda said, amusement tinging his voice but Aang almost didn’t hear it over the layers of worry. He straightened up immediately.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p>“There’s… been a message. From Suki… it’s not good.”</p><p>Aang nodded. “I’ll come.” He stood up to leave, and was instantly attacked.</p><p>“Avatar Aang! You can’t leave this meeting! A decision has not been made, by you or by any of us!” Minister Toro called, hurrying to block Aang’s way.</p><p>“Nope. No no no no no, I am going,” Aang pushed past him, which wasn’t hard: Minister Toro was large but not too fit, and he moved easily. At once, the other ministers and officials began to crowd the door.</p><p>“At least give us a direction!”</p><p>“A pathway forward!”</p><p>“Convince these lunatics that this problem must be dealt with by our capable Kingdom!”</p><p>“Can you -”</p><p>“Ok, <em> enough </em>!” Aang shouted, curling his hand. The air that wafted between each of their bodies hardened and pushed, clearing a way to the door. He and Hakoda walked through the group, but he stopped at the door. “You want to know what I think? I think that none of you are taking this city seriously. I think you’re all here to grab as much power as you can and leave the citizens of this city to deal with your bullshit.” He glared at each of them until he saw a familiar face in the crowd, and retracted his statement. “Not you, Minister Li. You’re great and we’re thrilled to have you here. But everyone else!” He was going somewhere with this point, but then he forgot, so he just nodded with whatever dignity he had and walked out.</p><p>“Rough day?” Hakoda asked quietly after a few corridors. Aang sighed.</p><p>“Tell me about it.”</p><p> </p><p>Zuko hurried through the halls once more, now wearing much more casual clothes. Many people didn’t recognise him despite his scar, but he welcomed the rare change.</p><p>He weighed up the doorways as they neared: one would lead him back to Suki and Li, and he’d be back in time for them to enter, or…</p><p>He could check up on Sokka.</p><p>Sokka has been in a coma for over a week, he told himself. You can’t just keep checking up on him.</p><p>But what if it’s different this time?</p><p>You have to lead an entire Nation! You can’t be constantly going back and forth between your duties and the bedside of a coma patient!</p><p>But he already knew he would go. He turned towards the infirmary, half of his mind screaming angrily at him while the other half bobbed in contentment. The halls were beginning to fill with people from the building collapse; the smell of blood wafting around the walls and little groans of pain filled his ears as he tried his best to move quickly through. He almost felt like a patient by the time he pushed open the double doors.</p><p>Again, he moved quickly through the rooms until he reached the curtains that sectioned off Sokka. He whisked them open, and there he was.</p><p>“You look <em> shit </em>,” Zuko said, and indeed he did. His face was drawn: hollowed and pale, with massive circles under each eye and his bandage slipping. And what Zuko could see of the rest of him, it didn’t look good. He could almost count every rib, every bone he had, which Zuko supposed was fair - he hadn’t eaten for nine days, although now he sported a cup of tea in his slightly shaking hands.</p><p>They didn’t know how to feed coma patients: not yet. They could give them water, but without a waterbending healer to sustain them, like Katara had kept Aang alive while he was out of it…</p><p>Zuko really needed to hire some water-healers. It just made too much sense for him <em> not </em> to, despite the backlash he was sure to get from it.</p><p>But Sokka was <em> awake </em>, and that was all that mattered. Sokka shifted a little uncomfortably in the bed.</p><p>“Nice to see you too,” he replied, and Zuko winced.</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>Sokka smiled, shrugging the apology away.</p><p>“I thought you were at the buildings?” Iroh interjected.</p><p>“I had to get changed. We’re taking a trip -”</p><p>“Into the sewers,” Sokka finished for him. Zuko stared at him.</p><p>“Yeah, how did you…”</p><p>Sokka shrugged, “Kind of the only option you’ve got going for you. Couldn’t have been destroyed above the ground: too much activity. And it was “apparently” a quake, but I don’t think it was. It had to be after… after…” he looked over at Iroh.</p><p>“Yesterday was the last quake.” Sokka nodded.</p><p>“Exactly. The volcano wouldn’t quake that much unless it’s about to erupt, but we’d know if it was, don’t worry,” he added quickly as Zuko’s mind began to break down. The <em> last </em> thing he needed was his city to erupt. “Anyways,” Sokka continued. “Nowhere else in the city felt it, so I think someone exploded the area underneath the buildings, which caused the “quake”, and then the buildings collapsed. How do they get down there? The sewers.” He clapped his hands together, looking proudly around the room. “Personally, I think I’m a genius.”</p><p>“I’ll reserve judgement on that until I’ve seen it, but it’s great that you’re back on your feet, Sokka.” Zuko marched across to him and threw his arms around him.</p><p>All he felt was bone.</p><p>He released his friend, grinned and went to leave.</p><p>“Hey hey hey, wait!” Sokka began to climb out of bed. “Where do you think you’re going?”</p><p>Zuko stared at him. “Get back into bed!” Iroh groaned, not even trying to stop him as Sokka staggered towards the curtains.</p><p>“I’m coming with you.”</p><p>“You are not. You can’t even walk right -”</p><p>“I’ll get better if I come,” Sokka said, and Zuko thought he detected almost a… plea in his tone, but Zuko stood his ground.</p><p>“No. Get into bed and <em> rest </em>.”</p><p>“But -”</p><p>“What is going on here?” a voice boomed outside of the curtains. They whipped back to reveal a very short, very angry woman. “Get. Back. Into. Bed.”</p><p>Sokka moved immediately back under the covers, and the orderly turned to him. “What are you doing in here?”</p><p>“I was -”</p><p>“No no no, Firelord. You have no business being in here, disturbing my patient. Out, out, out! Honestly, your uncle and bodyguard have been the <em> only </em> respectful visitors, I can’t <em> imagine </em> what it must have been like without an adult around - well?” she stopped ushering him, and put her hands on her hips.</p><p>“Right, sorry sorry sorry, I’ll go… Get better, you little shit!”</p><p>“See you, bro.”</p><p> </p><p>“Bloody flameos, Zuko, you couldn’t have been a little faster?” Li demanded as he arrived. Zuko shook his head, leaning forward as he panted and waved his hand in an apology. Li clicked his tongue, and handed over the money to Suki. She pocketed it happily.</p><p>“You’ll learn, Li, when it comes to Zuko, he <em> always </em> gets distracted.”</p><p>“Yes, thank you, Suki.” He straightened, smiling despite their tough love. “Sokka’s awake.”</p><p>“Yes!” Suki yelled as Li cheered.</p><p>“Let’s go see him!”</p><p>“Woah woah woah,” Zuko stopped him. “We have to check this out first.”</p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>“Because he has a theory that the quake was an underground explosion that triggered the building collapse. So we have to check it out before we go back,” Zuko said. Li and Suki drooped, but as they faced the tunnel, their expressions shifted from disappointment to absolute disgust. Li gestured to Suki.</p><p>“Ladies first.”<br/>“Age before beauty,” she waved him in front of her. Li sighed, but clambered in, followed by Zuko and then the light was blocked out above him as Suki stepped into the hole, and the three descended into the darkness.</p><p>Li lit a flame as Zuko landed, his boots instantly filling with the sewage. “Ew,” he muttered as Suki splashed down next to him. Li raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“What did you think was down here?”</p><p>“A beauty salon,” Zuko replied. He lit his own torch and waved Li onward. “Lead the way, my man.”</p><p>The three of them passed through the tunnels, wading their way through matters Zuko did not want to know of (but mark his words, one day a minister would come up to him concerning the city’s sewer system and he would be thrown back here in no time).</p><p>Although Li seemed to know these areas pretty well, Zuko slowly realised as Li turned down each corner and alley of shit with confidence emanating off every step.</p><p>Suki seemed to notice this too. “How do you know where we are? It’s almost like you’re above ground.”</p><p>Li shrugged. “I’m a city Watch guard. When Ozai was concerned with the military, he left me and the Watch to take care of everything here. We had to learn the… special ways around the city. After we got these sewers downpact, all the criminals stopped for a few weeks. Had to figure out other ways to avoid us.”</p><p>“Good job,” Zuko said. Li shrugged.</p><p>“Believe me, this isn’t the worst way they thought of.”</p><p>And on that cheery note, they turned down another corridor, and were met with a wall.</p><p>Zuko stared at it as the others fell in line with him. It wasn’t impenetrable, although the bricks and rocks had fallen so thickly and precariously that it may as well be. Suki whistled in a bit of admiration as she beheld it.</p><p>“I’m going to assume we’re under the towers?”</p><p>“Just about.”</p><p>“Sweet.” Suki moved closer to the wall, testing out a few handholds and nooks and crannies. Zuko thought to urge caution but stopped himself. She knew what she was doing.</p><p>She found a hole near the bottom of the collapse: two massive bricks were holding up another in a bit of an archway. She turned around. “Found one. I’m going in.”</p><p>“No!” Zuko and Li chorused.</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that that wall might collapse at <em> any </em> moment?”</p><p>“Not to mention that there really isn’t a need to look in there anyway.”</p><p>“Also how that opening is so small, we couldn't fit in there - and who knows what the rest of the rubble is like! You could get stuck in there -”</p><p>“And die -”</p><p>“And did we mention it might collapse -”</p><p>“Ok, enough,” Suki laughed, putting a hand up. “You guys are the worst worriers I have seen, it’s quite frankly disappointing.”</p><p>Li and Zuko glanced at each other, and then shrugged.</p><p>Suki rolled her eyes. “There <em> is </em> a reason to go in there. Whoever caused the explosion wouldn’t have had time to get out before it collapsed. They’ll still be in there!”</p><p>“They’ll… be dead,” Li said.</p><p>“I can’t smell anything over this stench, but I don’t think I need to smell for a body.”</p><p>“Doesn’t matter if they’re alive or not -”</p><p>“Woah, so uncaring!”</p><p>“I… am so done. Please listen for two seconds,” she pleaded.</p><p>“Right, sorry.”</p><p>She sighed. “They may have some information or a sign on their body that will help us! And I wouldn’t get stuck in there - if I got <em> in </em> there, I’ll be able to get out.”</p><p>“Famous last words,” Zuko muttered, but as Suki spread her arms out questioningly, he waved her away. “Go, but if you die, it’ll be your fault. Make sure Katara knows that, I don’t want to be on her bad side.”</p><p>“No one does,” Suki grinned as she bent down. “Eeeeeeeew,” she said as her hands plunged into the shit. Li and Zuko winced as she crawled through the muck and into the collapse.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Falling Minds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Depression, PTSD, mental illness attack</p><p>just be careful, my dudes :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sokka had never felt more useless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact, the one </span>
  <em>
    <span>useful</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing he had been able to do was to get out of people’s way, and even that had been hard. After almost an hour of arguing with Orderly Ming, who absolutely terrified him to no end, he had been able to relocate into his own room, and free up space in the infirmary which, as he was leaving, he realised was more than just </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The injured were flooding in from everywhere: little kids with blood trickling out of their heads, parents frantically begging for officers to find their child while others just sat, on chairs or on the floor, staring into nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka was glad he got out of there when he did, but now as he lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, all he could think about was how he wasn’t doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it was killing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka glanced at his desk: absolutely heaving with diagrams, notes and books. So many books. He had taken them out of the library, but after a few… miscommunications, he had begun to realise that the books might just belong to him now. In the Southern Water Tribe, or City, as it was now called, the libraries were about </span>
  <em>
    <span>sharing</span>
  </em>
  <span> knowledge: writing in the book to add or correct, and drawing in the margins, was not only allowed, but encouraged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the Fire Nation, it seemed… not so much. Their knowledge, once written, was to remain untouched, which had only made Zuko's life harder in the years that followed the war. The amount of propaganda and hate-filled books historians had begged Zuko not to touch ("Think of the generations after now! They need to know of the atrocities we encouraged - hiding it away will only worsen the problem!") were now sitting innocently in the library, waiting patiently to be picked up and read. Sokka himself had unknowingly opened a few of those books before, and he had seen it as a testament to his character that he had only burned one of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now, looking at his desk, feelings of uselessness and guilt overpowering him, Sokka sat up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which was a mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His head </span>
  <em>
    <span>crumbled</span>
  </em>
  <span> with pain, jolts shaking his back and arms and body. But he gritted his teeth. He had to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so he stood, clutching the wooden bedpost, not even feeling it over… everything. Everything collided into him at once, tearing away at his back, his face, his </span>
  <em>
    <span>mind</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but still he held onto the wooden post.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until he could feel it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe in. Breathe out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly made his way towards his desk, everything swimming around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe in. Breathe out…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Past the armchair. Past the table. Past the carpet and onto more wood. It was cold and hot and refreshing and horrible all at once: he couldn’t choose, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> couldn’t he even make that out?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe in. Breathe…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His desk came rippling into view. Numbers and characters and scrawling notes filled his eyes but nothing made it to his mind. He just… couldn’t do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe in… breathe…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just breathe, he told himself. Just…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started to move the notes. A book… it went into the right corner of the desk. A slip of paper? The left… This was a drawing, so… the back. Another book? He put the first one at the back, he thought, and he went on, moving things around, changing their order until…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stepped back, closing his eyes, opening them again, staring at the floor until it seemed to focus and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His desk was a mess. Nothing was right, the notes were just strewn across the tabletop, books left wide open or standing or even on the floor and… and... and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe, he told himself. Just breathe, you can do this…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he couldn’t. Not anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He groaned, covering his face in his hands. Breathe… in…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe… out…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But what use was it? What point was there to all this, all this bullshit?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Do it for them, he thought. All of them who died so that you made it…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they shouldn’t have died. Nuku, Tong, Kaida… Ru…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ru</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He drew in a shaking breath, had to gulp down the next one - he could almost hear him, could almost see him, kneeling next to his roll on bad nights, hugging him on the worse ones, telling him to just…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe. To let every burden go, to let it all out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked back over to his desk, and shakily reached out a hand, grabbing the nearest book. He brought it closer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They shouldn’t have died, they shouldn’t have died, they shouldn’t have…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They shouldn’t have.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka hurled the book at the wall, groaning - yelling, as his arm contracted and burned and </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good, he thought. He grabbed another, hands shaking, and soon they were all strewn across the room, his body ripping itself apart in pain; he swept his arms across the table, all his notes and diagrams fluttering to the floor while pens and ink made soft thuds and spilled their contents until at last, all that was left was a porcelain paperweight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breathe in -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They. Should. Have. Lived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka slammed the porcelain into the wall, the delicate paperweight smashing between his fingers, the shards slashing at his skin and falling, small rivers of blood streaming down his hand, down his arm. It wasn’t enough, but it was all he had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just breathe, Ru said. Just breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gulped another down, and just as the tears hit the floor, so did his shaking body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Note to self, Suki thought as she plunged through the cold, wet shit. Don’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The stuff was all through her hands, her nails, her </span>
  <em>
    <span>hair</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She was disgusting and miserable and she absolutely hated it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she kept going. Unfortunately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She squeezed through another couple of rocks. Zuko and Li were shining their flames down into the collapse, but now, Suki could only see enough to stop her from smashing into a rock. She, in all honesty, didn’t even know what she was meant to be looking for. A body? She hoped not, but she did sense something was under here, something that made the hairs on her arms stand up on edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next couple of rocks were so tight together, Suki paused for a few minutes, wondering whether or not to turn around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Please do, you need a bath, a part of her pleaded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nope, keep going, another part stubbornly said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You need to figure this out. The city is depending on you to find </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Please take a bath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kept going, the rocks scratching her arms as she wedged herself in and through. Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to get infected, the complaining voice said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shut up, she told herself, pushing through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just stating facts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something had changed after that last rock. The smell was less shitty and more… pungent. And the air… it was warmer, she realised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t see much of anything now: just her own hand in front of her. She felt in front of her, and made out a massive rock, lying horizontal across her path.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Great! Now you can turn around?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt underneath it. The rock just… ended. A small hole was open to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>, no don’t you dare, bitch, don’t you dare -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pinched her nose, took a deep breath and dived.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki pushed off the floor of the sewer, one hand outstretched to feel a path, but the liquid around her felt… pretty solid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nope, don’t think about that, she scolded herself, trying to find a rock or a wall to guide her. She didn’t, so she kept kicking forward for a while, before her hand brushed against the rough surface of a rock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally! She followed the rock upwards, reaching for the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she didn’t find one. The shit continued up until her head bumped against rock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh fuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She spun around frantically, both hands moving around her now as she searched for anything, but it seemed everywhere she turned, there was no escape, no exit, no </span>
  <em>
    <span>air</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Woah, ok stop, the complaining voice said suddenly, cutting off what she thought was her more logical side. Ok, if we’re going to do this, you need to calm down. You’re losing air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, painfully slowly, Suki stopped searching. She squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to reorient herself. Her feet weren’t surrounded by anything, as she could feel, so she tumbled over and pushed, her hands scrabbling for anything. Soon, she was heaving herself forward on the rocks, not having the strength to push herself forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Please do not die surrounded by shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least that was one goal, she thought, although now even her thoughts were fading, just as her scurrying fingers touched the end of the rocks on either side of her and she just barely managed to push herself up…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And cold air surged to meet her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gulped it down greedily, her lungs startling themselves back to life. Never again, she thought. Never again, that was terrible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What did I tell you, part of her said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked the sewage furiously from her eyes as the air around her turned warmer. She cracked them open, and was surprised to find more light than before, although she was convinced she had gone away from Li and Zuko. She hadn’t seen this part of the collapse on her journey in: where was this light coming from?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned, and her question was answered: a dying lamp sat on one of the higher rocks, the glass shattered, the small flame sputtering. She picked it up, and brandished it in front of her around the cavern. There was nothing else there, but a small exit, this time above water, so she pushed through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was met with two unseeing eyes on a cold face, staring back at her from the water and as the light filled the cavern, so did her scream.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang pushed open the door, and immediately stepped backwards: two large icy hands streaked past him and dropped another set of clothes into Katara’s case. He quickly glanced to check that no more bent objects were being projectiled at him before entering the room proper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a mess, which to be fair to Katara, it always was, but now it was a labyrinth. Clothes, weapons, food, water, blankets: they were all covering the floor a couple of inches deep. Katara was standing on the bed, her hands moving around her quickly and precisely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Behind you, sweetie,” Katara called, stress straining her voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Oh -” Aang ducked as another, smaller, ice-hand threw a couple of rolled bandages into her pack. Hakoda, a few seconds later and with much more deliberation, stepped into the room. He whistled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn, Katara. This is…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Terrible.” Aang, grinned, not surprised when he turned to find Toph reclining on their couch, her own, much smaller, pack next to her. “I can’t feel the floor. I can’t see anything!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toph, I’ve already told you -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she huffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara sighed. Aang frowned, tiptoeing around the floor to her. “Sweetie, what’s… what’s happening?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We,” Katara said decidedly, but Aang noticed she seemed to swallow down a sob. “We are going to the Fire Nation Capitol.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… why?” Aang asked. Toph raised an eyebrow, which Aang didn’t even know, and didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to know, how she a) knew how to do that, and b) knew that was an expression one made at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How don’t you know? </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> know, and I can’t even read!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here…” Hakoda said softly. Aang pivoted on his feet quickly, taking the letter Hakoda offered him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear Katara, Aang and Toph,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Things have been pretty bad in the Capitol. You probably know about the riot that happened, and that there were a lot of injuries, and some casualties but that’s not all.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>After the Kyoshi Warriors and I cleared the square where their ‘base’ was (we know it was a base, because the main rioters weren’t from the city), we were returning to the Palace when we got a message from Zuko.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>While Zuko and Li are uninjured, Sokka took a hit. A really bad one and he’s been in a coma for a few days. The doctors don’t know when, or if, he’ll wake up, but we don’t have any water-healers in the city. I know that Toph and Aang are probably busy, but Katara if you could come over, maybe you could help.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry to tell this to you, this way, but we’ve run out of ideas.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Suki.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang looked up. “We’re going over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. What do you think I’m doing?” Katara spread her arms, and suddenly, Aang realised that it wasn’t just Katara’s stuff littering the floor: it was his too, and his pack was also on their bed, patiently waiting to be filled. Aang handed the letter back to Hakoda.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me help,” he said, sending funnels of wind around the room. Each one picked up a few pieces, folded them and neatly placed them in their correct spots. Soon the room was becoming more and more spotless, and as Katara crashed down into the pillows, stressed and exhausted, the wind became a little quicker, and in only a few more minutes, the room was spotless, with everything they needed folded into their packs, and everything else shoved into the closets. Aang did have to bend a couple of strings around the handles of the cupboards so they didn’t just overflow and burst open, but the cupboards were for storage, he reasoned with himself. They were made to, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>store</span>
  </em>
  <span> stuff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara smiled over at him. “Thanks.” Aang walked over and kissed her forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anytime.” He turned back to Hakoda and Toph. “When can we leave?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hakoda smiled. “Right now. No, I’m not joking,” he said hurriedly as they all blinked at him. “Literally, leave while you can. All the officials and ministers and other… people, will pressure you to stay, especially you, Aang.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all nodded. “I’ll call Appa to the roof,” Aang said, and the four of them hurried out of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Hakoda was right. They hadn’t even turned down two corridors when Minister Toro bumped into them. “Avatar Aang! Please,” he gestured back the way he had come: the conference room. Are they still on about fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>birds</span>
  </em>
  <span>? “We need your decision -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope. I’m leaving,” Aang said. Minister Toro gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave? But you’re the Avatar. You can’t leave! No no no no no,” he hurried to step in front of them. “You have to stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang regarded him for a moment, then pushed past him. Minister Toro blustered, but thankfully ambled away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They kept going, practically sprinting now, but only another corridor down, they ran into Minister Li. Li looked them up and down. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang sighed. “Minister Li -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No no, I get it. You need to be in the Fire Nation.” Aang blinked at him, then breathed a sigh of relief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Yes, we need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Even as he said the words, he could hear a storm of feet approaching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I’ll help. I know how… clingy these people can get.” He and Hakoda exchanged a glance. “The roof is just up those stairs. Go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He and Toph began to run over, but Katara stayed. “Dad… aren’t you coming?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hakoda smiled. “You’ll make Sokka better, Katara, not me standing around worrying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hakoda pushed her towards them. Aang could make out the ministers running towards them from the end of the corridor, Minister Toro’s bouncing figure at the front. “Avatar Aang! You cannot leave!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go,” Hakoda said, and Katara sprinted towards them. Aang pulled out his whistle, blew hard, and then helped the girls onto the roof. As he looked back, he saw Hakoda and Minister Li blocking the hallway so the ministers couldn’t get through, but he knew that soon the sheer number of them might just topple them down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang leapt onto the roof, searching the skies for Appa, and… there he was!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Appa landed next to them, Toph summoning a massive part of the roof to propel them all up, and then they were in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the roof disappeared from view, Katara collapsed into Aang, and Toph collapsed into the food and soon as the stars around them became brighter and brighter, they each fell asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iroh had knocked, had walked in, had taken in the mess he, and the room, were in, had silently led Sokka back to his bed, taken his bloodied hand in his own and had begun to clean the small grains of porcelain still embedded in his hand. As Iroh dabbed the last of the shards away, he sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your hand will be fine. We just need to stop the bleeding.” He reached over to the bedside table, where he had set out some medical equipment. Sokka didn’t care enough to wonder where he had gotten it from.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He was right," Sokka muttered. Uncle paused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who?" he asked softly. Sokka waved his hand, not even caring that it was all cut and bruised. Iroh stilled it, tending to it with a bit more care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh didn’t say anything, simply began to thread a small needle, and for his silence, Sokka was both grateful and annoyed. Uncle raised the needle above his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This may -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh nodded, and began to stitch the biggest and deepest gash up: it was right in the middle of his palm, but Sokka didn’t even feel it. Then,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did Mason say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka sighed. “That… no one should trust me. With… you were there,” Sokka remembered, glaring a little accusingly at Iroh. Uncle finished the stitch, tied it off neatly and began threading the needle again for another gash, but Sokka jerked his hand away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you agree?” he asked softly. Iroh looked at him sadly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Sokka argued. “You shouldn’t trust me. No one should.” He shook his hand, trying to get the itches to stop, blood still trickling through other cuts. Uncle put a hand on his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know what he was talking about?” There was a massive ball in his throat, one that made thinking hard and talking even harder. His voice wavered as he continued, “He was talking about Kaida. About… about Ru and… all of them. And what happened to them? That was me,” his voice completely gave out, as did most of his will, but he had to get it out. He swallowed, and whispered, “That was my fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh reached for his hand again, and began the next stitch. When he went on, his voice was soft, almost regretful. “I don’t know what he was talking about, but I know what you are feeling right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shut his eyes, trying to stop them from flooding over. “How?’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I’ve been there before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka opened his eyes, and looked at him, but Uncle didn’t speak again until the second stitch was done. “I… I was the one to order the Attack of the Middle Ring in Ba Sing Se, all those years ago. It was a… great decision,” he huffed a sad laugh. “Strategically unmatched. We were going to return a few weeks later, victorious. My son…” he faltered slightly. Sokka knew that feeling, all too well. “Lu Ten was part of the first wave. That was the only wave that got in, only 137 firebenders. Ba Sing Se’s forces surrounded them, blocking them off from us.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That shouldn’t have been a problem, I had thought, as had many of my officers. They were the best firebenders we had, and we would get to them soon enough… But then the moon passed over the sun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An eclipse, Sokka realised. Uncle looked up at him, and smiled. “I suppose you know all too well the power of an eclipse… By the time the sun returned to us, and we got through to them… all we found were bodies - horribly dismembered bodies. The only reason I know Lu Ten died was because when we counted the fallen Fire Nation, not a single warrior was missing. They had been massacred.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka didn’t say anything, and Iroh continued to stitch him up, before looping a bandage through his fingers and around his hand and wrist. When he was done, he packed up the equipment, and turned to regard him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They shared a long look, before Uncle laid a hand on his shoulder and this time, Sokka didn’t brush it off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It will start to fade,” Uncle said. “Not everything: you’ll still wake up in the night with them in your mind, still drown out everything and everyone because all you can think of are their last words to you, but slowly, it will get better. You just have to let it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Suki!” Zuko yelled, his voice echoing through the rocks and sewer walls to where she was. She heard a few splashes - she really hoped the boys weren’t trying to find her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine!” she called quickly. The splashes stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you? What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… I don’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>where</span>
  </em>
  <span> I am, but it’s fine, I just… wasn’t expecting to find a body.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence. Then a tentative question from Li, “I… thought that was what you meant to find when you went in there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In all honesty, she hadn’t a clue what she had been expecting to find, and so she relayed that over to them. A few seconds later, Zuko called through,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, just be careful. If anything weird happens, come back through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki nodded, then realised that they wouldn’t be able to see that, so she passed on her affirmation and, despite every bone in her body resisting, pushed through the sewage towards the body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a young man, half burnt and almost encased in the sludge, wearing the same black attire that all the other rioters had on. One side of him was… gone, Suki realised, gaping slightly. It was just, not there, she had thought it was beneath the sewage but it had been… completely blown away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck, she thought. She looked at his other side: one clenched fist, his young face - shit, he couldn’t be older than her, than Aang or Toph, even - looking a bit shocked, like he’d just woken from a bad dream. She looked back at his hand, setting the lamp down on a nearby ledge before prying his fist open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She found a little metal badge. Almost like a medal, she thought sadly. She looked around the cavern for anything else, but everything had been blown away, so she turned, picked up the lamp, and went back the same way she’d come.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were still knee-high in the sewage, but as Suki tried to wring out her hair, with admittedly little success, she was just grateful she was out from the collapse. The amount of shit that was sticking to her hair, to her face, to her bloody </span>
  <em>
    <span>eyes</span>
  </em>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would never smell the same again. And of course, Ty Lee would never forgive her. Although maybe Ty Lee would be her greatest hope. She would have to find out later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the Toshi family symbol,” Zuko said as Suki and Li crowded around it, Li also recognising the metal and gasping, beginning to visibly shake with excitement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki frowned. “The who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Toshi family,” Zuko and Li chorused. Li began to fawn over the medal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re like… influential,” Zuko dismissed awkwardly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re incredible,” Li gushed. “Auntie Toshi could step on me and I would thank her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Li… Aunt Toshi is dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I’d thank her spirit. Profusely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko faced him, looking a little more than concerned as Suki huffed out a laugh. “Sounds like some celebrities of a sort.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re… generous with their money.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>gorgeous</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I - can we not, Li?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li sighed, a little sadly. Zuko rolled his eyes, focusing his attention back on the small medal. “This man… Why would he have this? Unless he was part of the family -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Toshi’s would </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> do something like this!” Li cried, aghast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki patted Li on the back as his spirits drooped again. Zuko pocketed the medal. “Well, this gives us a start. We need to take a closer look at their family - well… person, I should say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Person?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li nodded. “After Auntie Toshi died in 97 A.G., General Mason Toshi has been the last surviving member of his family. Although he did marry in 86 A.G., his wife - Eshima Toshi - died in a strike attack against the Northern Water Tribe in 91 A.G. and he never remarried or had children.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was dead silence in the sewer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Toshi’s!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it was Zuko’s turn to sigh as he realised he would never win. “Let’s just get this over with. Li, what’s the quickest way through here to get to the Palace? Actually no,” he said as Li began to walk. “The janitors will kill us if we go through the Palace like this. Where’s the bath-house?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ok, yes, Suki admitted as she wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel, people were suffering and struggling through these new attacks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she felt terrible for them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, on the other hand, she hadn’t felt this good in weeks. Her hair was soft and shiny, her skin (her skin!) was </span>
  <em>
    <span>glowing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, absolutely beautiful. Little acne scars that traced her face seemed to blend in now, giving her an almost adult look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being an adult was terrifying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Looking</span>
  </em>
  <span> like an adult, however… Most fun in the world. It was great - you just pretended you had your shit together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki got changed into a set of spare clothes Rui had been kind enough to collect for her. The other clothes, she had gotten burned. She was never wearing them again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few minutes later, she met Li and Zuko outside the bath-house. “Took your sweet time,” Zuko noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, so you understand how I feel when you and Sokka go hog the showers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko grunted, turning back to Li, who was reverently fingering the Toshi medal. “Li?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Yeah… sorry.” The three began to walk briskly up the promenade. Around them, stalls were being set up and hassled over - with the latest influx of injured and displaced, the markets were the only thing keeping this city sane anymore. They meandered through the stalls and customers as quickly as they could, which in all honesty, wasn’t that fast at all, but at least they were getting through to the Palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suki!” She turned as Seika, Asa and Hina ran towards them, towering kebabs in each of their hands that wobbled precariously as they neared. “What’s - you smell like </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, thank you!” Suki smiled. “Really warming my heart now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, babe, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> we could do!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look like you just swum in the stuff,” Asa laughed. “What the fuck have you been doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki opened her mouth to reply, but Zuko tapped her on the shoulder. “We’ll be at Mason’s office, but I’ll probably have to do some admin stuff first, and we’ll visit Sokka, so we’ll take a while. You know where his office is?” he asked quietly. She nodded, and he and Li walked off as Suki turned back to the girls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just went swimming in the sewer. Is that duck?” she snatched one of the three kebabs in Hina’s hand and took a small bite. “Oh! Mmmm, this is so good!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>, right? Come on! We have </span>
  <em>
    <span>got</span>
  </em>
  <span> to show you this shop…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki was dragged over to a small restaurant, where she assumed the kebabs were coming from. Wafts of meaty smoke drifted around little booths, and Suki’s mouth immediately began to water. She leaned backwards as they entered to catch the shop’s name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Meat Shop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… known for its creativity. Come on - we all got a booth!” Hina continued to drag Suki along to a completely chock full booth, and every one of the Kyoshi Warriors had squeezed and cramped themselves in. Suki had to stop to marvel at their configuration: </span>
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<span>Izumi sat at the head of the table like the queen she was, carefully regarding the menu despite multiple indications that this restaurant was a </span><em><span>meat</span></em><span> shop, and probably wouldn’t have any vegetarian options. </span>
</li>
<li><span>Rui and Maiya were sitting on top of Izumi’s seat: Rui’s legs daintily resting on a cushion, taking up little room while Maiya had planted her feet happily on both Izumi and the couch next to her like a little gremlin.</span></li>
<li><span>Mirai was seated on the left hand side of the table with her legs crossed onto her cushion. </span></li>
<li><span>Ty Lee was sitting on top of Mirai’s chair, her legs in a split position because obviously she wanted to flex. She was leaning over Mirai’s head, her hands resting lightly on the other girl’s shoulders as she perused the menu.</span></li>
<li><span>Asa and Seika hurried to the right side of the table, squeezing themselves in to fit, but when Asa collided with Maiya’s leg, she decided to plant herself on the table, and rest her legs on the chair. Seika continued to sit normally, a feat Suki viewed as extraordinary in this group.</span></li>
<li><span>Hina did not even bother to try and fit on the table: she instead grabbed as many of the cushions as she could, with much protestation, and stacked them up to form another chair at the left corner.</span></li>
<li><span>This left Suki. She rolled her eyes and simply grabbed a chair from a nearby, vacated table, placing it next to Hina’s cushion pile and plopping herself down. She would have to leave soon anyway, but why not enjoy a bit of fun while she was here?</span></li>
</ul><p>
  <span>A very distressed waiter soon came over. He fumbled with his little pad as he asked, tentatively, “Would… you like to order?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A chorus of eagerness answered him. “Right… well, let’s start with entrees.” As he began to take people’s orders, he grew more and more confident, making little jokes with them as he went around the group. After noting down the entrees, he explained to the Warriors that it was not a case of ‘everyone chooses something for themselves’, but rather a ‘free for all’. “Kind of like ‘survival of the fittest’,” he smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only thing he had to ask individually was drinks, and that went absolutely fine until he got to Rui. He nodded to her as a way of asking, but she didn’t realise what that meant, and after ten seconds of awkward staring, he cleared his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want a drink?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Yeah yeah yeah, um…” Rui looked down at the menu, as though confused, and the entire squad perked up. Rui always, </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span>, knew what she wanted, no matter where she was, or what she was doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But apparently, who she was talking to made a difference.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one said anything as she found her drink, but as the boy left, his little pad filled to the brim and then some more, they all turned to her and smiled innocently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… what did you think of him, Rui?” Mirai asked, and Rui turned redder then the signs out front.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he was… nice,” she squeaked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that all?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spill, Rui, we won’t judge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rui raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah you will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well that just told us </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> we needed to know,” Hina smirked. Rui blinked at her, then groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just ‘nice’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shut up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should find out if he’s nice in bed too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rui gaped. “SHUT UP!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki smiled. “Bon appetit, Rui.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Danger With Every Step</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The cobblestones were almost completely dark as the thin moon moved through the sky, but the girl raced over the stones regardless to the Palace, the message she carried far more important than any she had carried before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe even more important than </span>
  <em>
    <span>herself</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she couldn’t really judge her own self-importance. She was only twelve, and although she knew how the world worked, and how people worked, she hadn’t figured out how </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>worked, and that bothered her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it didn’t tonight. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>couldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> tonight. Because she had a message to deliver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran lightly up the boulevard, the hills of the Capitol almost unnoticeable to her. Almost like massive steps, she thought. The hills at her home were </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> much bigger than the ones here -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hunched-over man stepped out from the shadows of the building to her right. He was old, that she could tell. Then again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> was older than her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not smarter. And certainly not as fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man moved slowly across the street. She rolled her eyes and slowed down for him, but of course, </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he stopped in the middle of the street. She sighed, and began to move around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man’s foot struck out at her, his foot cracking against her rib and sending her sprawling. She groaned, pushing against the wall to raise herself up, but he was there, shoving her against the building, a hand curling at her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make a sound,” he spat. “And I will burn you alive, do you understand?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Won’t I make more sound when I burn anyway?” she whispered back, trying to sound a little braver than she felt. The message she carried crumpled and tore at itself as she closed and opened her fist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed. “Not if I can help it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her body chilled in the warm night air. “What do you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man smiled, amber eyes glinting in the faint moonlight. “Your message could destroy the very thing we, and Firelord Ozai, fight for. Unity.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unity? Is that it? Seems to me you and Ozai are tearing the nation apart.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re smart for your age. A shame…” his fist began to close around her throat. “That you couldn’t grow older to become wise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Fire Nation Palace was truly something to behold and, in Aang’s opinion, made more magnificent by the night. Pillars of warm, beckoning flames stood like sentinels, casting their own lights around to curl around every blade of grass and shape the bark on the tree. The almost full moon and stars shone a colder light down, the cobblestones illuminated and scattering strange patterns around the courtyard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Appa neared, and Katara and Toph began to stir, Aang made out four figures by the pond: one standing, gazing up at the sky, two lounging and one completely conked out on the ground, although they too began to slowly prop themselves up as Appa began to land and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Sokka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara edged up to him. “Aang, is that…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. It’s Sokka,” he called over Toph. She peered down, frowning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Where?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right there - oh. Hold on.” Aang summoned a small ball of air and propelled himself over to Toph, relief flooding through his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ride over to the Palace had been stress added onto stress. First, their departure had not been the most pleasant, nor had they been able to give any kind of warning to anyone: Aang had had to use his bison whistle to call over a nearby messenger hawk. It was flying to Ba Sing Se, but Katara had deemed the message not important anyway, and so they attached their own message and sent the bird back to the Palace. The original message was still in their bags: they would just have to send it later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After their departure, the silence of the night sky and the gentle rushing of winds had lulled them to sleep, Aang had woken to a break of the quiet night by silent sobs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara hadn’t said anything, but Aang hadn’t needed her to: he just reached over and pulled her in close until her worry stretched her out thin and she fell asleep in his arms. Aang’s own mind had been in whirlwinds… nothing serious had ever happened to Sokka, that he knew of, before. The only hard time was when he had broken his leg on a Fire Nation Airship during Sozin’s Comet, and even then he had brushed it off as “nothing bad”. He had always been making light of things, brushing things off and focusing outwards - on other people and other problems that he could try and help with. He seemed… almost untouchable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang hadn’t slept after that, just watched as Capitol Island had neared, its dark shape silhouetted against the crashing waves of the sea. But now, as Appa’s feet settled on the ground, he and Toph leapt down from the saddle, and Aang could not remember feeling this much relief, this much stress just flowing from inside of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Katara ran towards her brother, a determined and worried look on her face that was slowly being replaced by something else, Aang smiled as Sokka opened his arms for a hug and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka reeled back as Katara’s fist slammed square into his jaw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Katara, what the fuck -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko and Suki had come to greet them, but everything had stopped as they all watched. Katara advanced, much to Sokka’s protestations, and she punctuated every word with a hit. “Don’t. You. EVER. Get. Hurt. Like. That. Again!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Katara -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, and suddenly as that first punch, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tight, not letting go. Sokka blinked at her, a bit bewildered, but then he too hugged her, gently rocking his sister as she began to cry into his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You had me </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> worried,” Aang heard her whisper. Sokka nodded, not taking his eyes off her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he muttered. They didn’t hear what he said next, but Katara let out a shaky laugh, and then held him out at arm’s length, inspecting him thoroughly, healing water at the ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko turned to Aang and Toph. “Welcome back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang grinned, walking over and getting a hug from his bro, Suki and Toph making their own greetings. “How’s Republic City?” Zuko asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko laughed. “That bad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We had a full </span>
  <em>
    <span>day</span>
  </em>
  <span> of talking about how to clean the city from bird shit. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>day</span>
  </em>
  <span>, a full fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>day</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aang announced bitterly. Zuko rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just send in a couple of waterbenders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I said!” Aang practically yelled. “No one listens to the bloody Avatar anymore, I swear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because you’re a teenager, Aang,” Suki smiled. “You’re going through a phase.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m an adult!” he protested, his voice deciding to crack halfway through and absolutely ruin his argument. Zuko huffed out a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re seventeen, Aang,” Sokka called over. Aang turned to him as he continued, “You’re at the peak of your ‘I’m an adult when I'm actually not’ phase.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you’re going to take her side?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki shrugged. “He is my boyfriend.” She drew finger-guns at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am her boyfriend,” he repeated, returning the gesture with one hand. The other was being healed by Katara, who was frowning a little as she bent the water around it. Something was off, Aang could tell, because Katara could </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell</span>
  </em>
  <span> how a person got an injury, whether it was through fighting or an accident or… something different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And whatever Sokka had done to his hand was troubling her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she let go after a few more seconds and the two wandered back to the group. Katara smiled warmly at Suki and Zuko, and hurried over to hug them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, kind of ignored you there,” she whispered to Suki.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Totally fine, babe. You came here for him,” Suki replied softly. Katara smiled in thanks, turning to Zuko. He wasted no time in sweeping her off the ground in a bear hug. It was actually quite funny to watch as he set her down: her five foot five figure barely making it past his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon, they were all lounging on the grass all trying to reconnect, as if they had been separated for years rather than a couple of weeks. Suki and Katara chatted away to their heart’s content, Suki telling her of this new restaurant she and the other Kyoshi had found while Katara ranted about the audacity people had to walk slowly in front of her but fast enough so she couldn’t overtake without sprinting. Sokka laid his head next to Toph’s as they stared at the night sky, Sokka pointing at different constellations and describing their patterns to her as she listened, a smile slowly growing on her face as Sokka came up with the most outrageous descriptions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh rested his head against the tree, occasionally interjecting his own thoughts as Aang and Zuko talked about what could happen with Ozai and Azula’s rebellion, until a while into talking about how they could find the pair Aang realised Zuko hadn’t said anything. He looked over at Zuko, who was staring off into space, looking confused and a little exasperated. He nudged him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You good?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko jerked back into reality. “Oh, yeah, I’m just… worried.” Aang nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s understandable. Is it just the whole overarching issue or is there something else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko shrugged. “I think… no, I… I think there’s a traitor in the Court or the Guard. It just… makes too much sense for there to be, but… I don’t know, I didn’t… think anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> side with my father but… there is a lot more sympathy then I thought there would be…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh nodded. “They found a clue, directing them to a member of one of the more influential families in the Capitol, and there’s only one remaining member but… he’s Zuko’s top general.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit. Was he -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep. Served my father before me, but like most of the Court, he agreed to my succession and backed my reforms and has been very loyal and everything but… ever since the escape he’s kind of assuming authority everywhere I turn. He didn’t inform me of the protests until they turned into a full-on riot, and then he sent in troops against civilians but I don’t know, it’s all just… too much.” He sighed. “Truth be told, I don’t want to confront him about it. I want to just ignore it for as long as possible but…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t anymore?” Aang asked. Zuko nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The longer we wait, the stronger </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> get.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s do this!” Li clapped his hands together enthusiastically and brought out a little pointer and a board showing the Palace map, which he set out on the table. The group gathered around it. ‘Operation: General Mason, here we come. Ooh, this is so exciting,” he jumped up and down as he set little counters out. Suki raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you loved the Toshi family.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would gladly die for them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I would. One hundred percent, but their </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> is starting drama, which makes them very controversial,” Li explained. “Also, General Mason is, not going to lie, a bit of an asshole, especially when it comes to, like, the army and ordering people and stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, technically, you are ranked below him,” Suki countered, smiling. Li waved that away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have an ‘issue with authority’, apparently. But, like, no one likes him anyway, so it’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, gotcha,” Katara said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’d understand,” Li smiled widely at her, now finished with setting up the board. He and Katara made solid contact on their high five before he waggled his fingers at the map. “Zuko?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko nodded, and the atmosphere turned a little more serious as he thought. “I… do not understand why we have a full-on map of the Palace. I thought I was just going to call him into the Throne Room and talk to him while you guys searched his office?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Visuals, Zuko,” Li explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> visuals,” Sokka added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They aren’t that important,” Toph said, swinging back on her chair as she tossed Fire Flakes into her mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko stared at Toph. “Um - please… don’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph saluted him. “Whatever you say, Fire Sire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it was Sokka’s turn to stare. “That is the best name I have ever heard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not now, Sokka.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apologies, Fire Sire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko groaned, his head beginning to feel like it was being gently crushed between two rocks. He moved his counter to the Throne Room, and the other ones to Mason’s office, before doubling back with Suki and Li’s counters. They frowned as he repositioned them at his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suki’s my chief bodyguard, so it would be strange if she wasn’t there. And I don’t want Li to get caught in his office.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li looked a bit taken back. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because,” Zuko cocked his head. “You’re a sergeant, and if you get caught searching his office, that won’t be good for you, no matter if I’ve sent you there or not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And it will also look bad on me,” Zuko added regretfully. He really hadn’t wanted to say that part, and to be honest it wouldn’t look </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible</span>
  </em>
  <span> on him, even if he was wrong, but despite Li’s ‘issues with authority’, Zuko knew that Li would only agree if he made himself out to be the victim, of sorts. He wasn’t surprised when Li straightened and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko turned back to the board. “I’ll call him into the Throne Room in an hour. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep him in there, so be quick,” he addressed Sokka, Katara, Aang and Toph. “And make sure that when you’re leaving, make everything look as close to how it looked before. Only take things if you need to.” He turned to the others. “I don’t think we should confront him straight away. If we can get him talking about the riots and the general problem, we’ll be able to keep him in for longer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li began to pack away the board as Suki called for a servant to bring Mason to them. Sokka turned to Zuko. “If we find something, do we come to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it’s good enough evidence. If not, then wait until you’ve found something stronger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if we don’t?” he said more quietly. Zuko sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we’re wrong. And for once, I hope I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Firelord,” General Mason bowed before the throne. Zuko returned the greeting and Mason straightened. “You wished to speak with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did.” Zuko didn’t reclaim his seat: rather, he parted the knee-high flames that surrounded his throne with a small flick of his hand and walked down to meet Mason face to face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or rather, face to chest. The man was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> bloody tall…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted a report of the duties that you have been undertaking to help the city. I know,” he added as Mason frowned in confusion. “That an overall report will be given to me by General Osama, but as you are the leader of our military I wanted a more specific report.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Mason nodded. “Of course, Firelord. The other administrations that run the city have been able to respond more knowledgeable: of course the aid sector has been aiding the injured and displaced, the economic and trade compartment is collecting resources… so on and so forth. I’ve… divided the standing military so that half are at the disposal of the other sectors while half is aiding me in enforcing curfews, seeking out and destroying propaganda and other… reasonable actions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko nodded. “You don’t sound too convinced about splitting the military forces.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Mason sighed. “In all honesty, Firelord, it was an order from General Osama. She’s technically senior to me, but she abuses that power more than what’s necessary. It was her idea to aid the other sectors. Personally? I think those administrations can do fine on their own, but she was adamant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still, I think that was a good idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forgive me, Firelord, but that’s where you’re wrong. The military shouldn’t be divided around the city: if there’s another riot, we all need to stand together to defend. Strength comes from unity, not from numbers alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It could almost be an inspirational quote, Zuko thought. A bit of fancy paint work and calligraphy and you could hang it on your wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko thought for a moment. “But surely… if your military is divided into groups?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Squadrons. About five in each squad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then if the city is attacked again, the squads will be able to defend from multiple fronts? I understand that having the army all together is a powerful statement, but wouldn’t it be much more effective for smaller groups to be around the city instead of all together?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that is exactly what we did in the riots: we sent troops to different places in the city, but Firelord, one squadron alone cannot defend the Capitol. They’d have to hold out against enemies for a considerable amount of time before reinforcements arrived, and we can’t ask that of our troops. Most are benders, but they don’t have the amount of training that we had, and the non-benders don’t have the training that your guards had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s General Osama’s wish that the military be less active,” he continued, as Zuko made no move to interrupt. “That they have less power in the city, but our sector is the most important part. We can’t be divided or lessened: we’ll need all our power to fight the forces of what Ozai’s managed to collect in the west, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kosuki Island.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s locked,” Katara said as she jerked the doorknob.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we even surprised?” Sokka smiled, taking a small pick out, but before he could even touch the knob, Toph had strode forward and twisted it. The door swung open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka smiled gleefully. “That’s so cool!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Katara looked aghast. “You can do </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph smiled. “After me, I should think.” She swept past them and into the office. After they had all filed in, she closed the door, and Sokka got the impression that she had relocked it. He smiled again, thinking of all the wonderful things that would now come to pass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara snapped her fingers at him. “Hey. Focus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waved her off him as he strolled into the centre of the office, and slowly turned to behold it. It was the neatest room he had ever been in, and he loved it and hated it at the same time. On the one hand, it was so, so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> satisfying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the other, it was… too perfect. Something </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be off, but he couldn’t find it, and that irked him to no end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He frowned at the room, before reaching into his shoulder pack and pulling out his prized possession: his detective hat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang laughed. “How do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> have that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because Katara’s not a fire bender, so it’s harder for her to burn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t worry. I will burn it,” she said, malice heating her voice stronger than any flame could. The hairs on Sokka’s neck raised slightly in fear, and he turned away from his sister, and began to inspect the desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The desk in question jolted suddenly as he tried to open a draw. He glared at Toph, who was standing silently, just listening. Then she shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No secret exits or compartments. If we’re going to find anything, it’ll be in the desk or the cabinet or under the trapdoor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Toph - under the </span>
  <em>
    <span>trapdoor?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What - yeah.” She frowned. “Was the trapdoor not obvious to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You just said there weren’t any secret exits!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Technically a trapdoor could also lead to a compartment,” Sokka mused. Aang gestured his hands at Sokka’s face dismissively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The trapdoor isn't a secret. It’s right there,” Toph pointed at the floor. Sokka bent down and felt around the area. He, at first, felt nothing but the wooden floors, but then felt a small groove on his finger. It was so faint, he thought. You could mistake this for a scratch or something. But as he ran his finger along it, he traced out a perfect square in the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.” He stood up, hovered his left foot above it, and stomped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ground swung open beneath him, and he fell a couple of metres down into the pit. “Oh, fuck,” he swore as he landed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, you ok?” Aang called down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> was going to happen?” he heard Katara’s jeering voice echo down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice to know my sister loves me,” he muttered, before giving Aang a thumbs-up and looking around the room. He could see much, but he came to realise that it was darkness that surrounded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His body tensed, caving in on itself as he tried to make more room, but they were too close, too close -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang landed next to him. “You sure you’re good?” he asked, lighting one hand aflame and reaching the other towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka smiled, taking the hand. “Oh, Avatar Aang, I have been mortally wounded in battle! I shall require a wreath of the most beautiful flowers at my funeral, and a swathe of weeping ladies to accompany me to my grave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the trap door entrance, Toph turned to Katara. “Is something wrong with Sokka?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something has </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> been wrong with Sokka. I’m surprised you didn’t notice it earlier.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kosuki Island?” Zuko frowned. “Since when did my father get to Kosuki? It was reported to me yesterday that he hadn’t even reached Muzha Town.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Mason hesitated. “I… apologise for the miscommunication, Firelord. Ozai reached Kosuki Island several days ago, and has made alliances with Lira, Bhuli and Wantu Towns. Nakida City locked itself down since the riots.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Must have been some miscommunication,” Zuko glared. “Seeing as you were the one to inform me of his movements yesterday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forgive me, Firelord, but we genuinely did not have that information. We only received the message that he was on Kosuki Island this morning -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This morning? General, I know you’re a busy man, but I need all the information I can get. If I had not called you in for a report, when would I have been told of this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mason hesitated, but that told Zuko more than he needed. He shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, General Mason. I believe that is all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>General Mason began to protest, but stopped himself, stiffly bowed and strode out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki walked over to him. “Zuko,” she said quietly. “We needed to keep him in here. They’re still in his office.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give him a minute. I have absolute faith in Mason,” Zuko strolled back to his throne and took a seat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka hesitantly felt the walls around him. “There doesn’t seem to be anything down here. Maybe he’s still building?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang swept the fire around him. “I don’t think so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka turned around, and beheld the wall Aang was lighting. Hundreds of little lines and dots littered the surface, starting just above Aang’s head and going down, almost touching the ground. Sokka adjusted his hat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he grinned as he studied the marks. “Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> yeah!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Aang peered down. Sokka fidgeted with his hat a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I recognise these! We had to use them at the Boiling Rock. They’re light signals! You flash someone, and you can send a message!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You certainly can, alright,” Aang grinned. Sokka frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you become so… knowledgeable about the world?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, when Toph did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So? What do they say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka grabbed Aang’s flaming hand by the wrist and pulled it over to the beginning of the message. “Um… oh damn, they don’t have spaces between the words. Ah, ok… something along the lines of ‘going to break tea out’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tea?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, chai. Actually, hold on… No! No, I’m wrong. Dai. Dai Li. They’re going… to break the Dai Li out…” He turned to Aang, who was staring at the message, his mouth gaping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> not good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mason had returned a few minutes later, with a couple of his soldiers accompanying him to back him up. He proceeded to begin an animated speech about how he was completely innocent in this matter, and his soldiers backed him up whenever he asked. Zuko let him rant for about five minutes, before standing up, and the general faltered in his speech.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“General Mason, I wasn’t blaming you for the… miscommunication. I’m sure that there is a valid explanation for what happened. I am, however, blaming you for not immediately informing me of the news when you received it, as I also blame you for other instances where it was your duty to inform me, such as the protests that later turned into the riots.” He let that stew with Mason for a few seconds. The two soldiers began to look very uncomfortable, so he quickly dismissed them with a nod. As the doors to the throne room shut, he continued, “Why was I not told immediately of Kosuki?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firelord… you had called me to a meeting with you, which was, after we received the message, only fifteen minutes away. I thought it would just be easier to tell you then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Zuko thought. Yes, there was a reason. A weight lifted itself off him as he sat back down on his throne. “Then -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors swung open again as Sokka ran in, a determined but also terrified expression on his face. Oh no, Zuko thought. Suki hurried to meet him, as did Li, and after a few minutes, Suki strode over to him. He parted the flames, and stood to meet her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They found a whole secret room in his office, and inside it, there are plans sent by Ozai to break the Dai Li out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was decidedly not good. He turned to Mason.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“General Mason. Unfortunately, some new evidence has come to light, detailing plans that would further my father’s cause significantly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mason’s jaw dropped. “Firelord, what plans are these?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plans you already know about. The plans were found in your office, detailing a rescue mission around the Dai Li squadrons we hold prisoner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firelord, I know nothing of these plans - Firelord!” he blustered as Zuko turned and, grimacing, nodded to Suki. “Firelord, what is this trick? I had no idea of any plans to -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“General Mason.” Zuko’s voice seemed to echo a bit more as he spoke. “I charge you with high treason.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Smoke Them Out Part One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nighttime fell once again upon Capitol City. The full moon rippled on the waters, and the stars provided light of their own, but Azula and Sainu still lit their hands to show the way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama was bending the small party to the island on a block of ice. It wouldn’t be big enough for the Dai Li, but Azula knew that they would be able to bend their own blocks as transport. And they would be able to help them break out, and deal with any other skirmishes along the way. As the island neared, Azula only grew more and more confident, which was a first, she realised, since she had broken her father out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt a light hand on her shoulder, and she turned. Sainu smiled, her black hair whipping in the wind. Azula reached over and grasped her hand, leaning forward and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you two not?” Hama snapped. “I can’t see a bloody thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki snorted as they sheepishly moved to the front of the iceberg. Hama rolled her eyes as Azula pushed a small fireball off her hand and into the air to hover in front of Hama, and then immediately stole a kiss from her girlfriend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can see perfectly well!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama muttered something about teenage lesbians, but Azula didn’t hear her over Sainu’s gorgeous laugh. It rang across the waves like a clear bell as they rushed towards the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their iceberg became a little more serious as the waves carrying them began to slam against the rock shore. Hama pulled the iceberg over into a small cove on the north-east side of the island, and as the iceberg parked on the beach, it melted until they were standing on the dry sand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had arrived, Azula saw, in the same cove that their rioters had. A couple of massive wooden raft-boats had been strewn on one side of the bay, with a couple of guards chatting away, but at their arrival they stood, and took their stances.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula threw off her hood, shining her flames under her face, and they immediately recognised her. They bowed, and this time it didn’t feel strange to return the gesture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long have they been in the city?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… almost the whole day. They only started the riot about half an hour ago, but entering the city… that started around two hours before midday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula nodded, turning to her team. “Let’s go, team.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were about five minutes up the trail before Aiki spoke up. “Team?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to him, confused. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? We’re going to go around the Fire Nation, doing our thing, and we don’t even have a team name. Are you just going to call us ‘team’ from now on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How - how is this the most important thing on your mind at the moment?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> important!” Aiki hurried up so they were walking side by side, although it took him a bit of time as he had a massive coil of rope slung over his shoulder. He readjusted it as he spoke, “We need a team name.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re as bad as…” Azula began, and then stopped. Truth be told, his whole ‘team name’ and bravado vibe was starting to remind her of…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, Ty Lee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed that aside. She didn’t need that right now. “I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked over at him, her flames lighting his completely serious face. “Oh… </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sssh!” she scolded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he whispered, before turning to Sainu and Hama. “Any ideas?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu shrugged. “Well… we need to have something related to fire in it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And water,” Hama said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe… steam team?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all stopped and turned to face Sainu. “Steam team?” Hama groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” she smiled. “What? It’s catchy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a good name,” Azula interrupted Hama. How dare she insult her girlfriend, she thought. Honestly. “We’re going to keep trying but it’s a good back up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama rolled her eyes again as they continued. It was silent for a few minutes while they thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about something to do with smoke?” Aiki proposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Smoke doesn’t rhyme with ‘team’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t have to rhyme with ‘team’. We could be the smoke blokes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s better than ‘steam team’,” Sainu said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Given that the majority of us are women -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, me and Sainu are gay -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued on, passing over a couple of ridges that fell down into their own little bays and coves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about ‘Three Idiots and a Refined Waterbender’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too long,” Aiki, Azula and Sainu chorused. There was silence for another few minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like ‘smoke blokes’,” Aiki said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So do I. We can shorten it to ‘smokes’ if we need to,” Sainu said, and Azula had to agree as well. Hama sighed, but didn’t complain any further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula grinned. “Fall in, smokes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The prison stood before them, its rocky form a silhouette against Capitol City.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, to Azula’s surprise, was aflame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whole place wasn’t completely lit; it seemed her brother did have some control over the fires, but fires were springing from most of the quadrants. From their view on the rock platform behind the prison, they could see that the north-east quadrant was the most in danger, but orange glows came from towards the south and west as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s insane,” Aiki whispered, looking a bit sick. Sainu looked ill as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many people…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s war, Sainu,” Hama said, although she said it gently. Azula turned from the sight. They </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to focus on the Dai Li agents, but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the city to be burnt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a distraction, she told herself sternly. It’s what needs to be done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she still felt disgusted. At the rioters, at herself, at her father… at everyone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu climbed onto the rock above her, and reached down a hand to help the others up, and Azula had to retract her statement. Maybe not </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smoke blokes were alright, she thought, feeling slightly better as they climb further up the outer prison wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, I was thinking…” Aiki grunted as he heaved himself over a particularly difficult ledge. Azula glanced over at Sainu, who was looking quite skeptical.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know how bad that is for you,” Sainu commented as she too came up to the ledge. Azula felt Aiki roll his eyes as he continued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sainu.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy to be of assistance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happens after this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula frowned. “After we break the Dai Li out? We go back to Kosuki and -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I mean… after </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. After we take back the Fire Nation. What then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then we rule the Fire Nation. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… what happens to Firelord Zuko?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula stopped climbing, staring up at Aiki in confusion. He stared down at her from his ledge while he pulled Sainu up. “I don’t know, I expect that will be Father’s call. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki shrugged. “He’s friends with the Avatar. Suppose he got caught up with all of this… if the other nations </span>
  <em>
    <span>weren’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> already against us, they will be if something happens to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Once we have control of the Fire Nation, it won’t matter what the other nations think. We’ll be in a position where we can deal with them and, if need be, conquer them as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“World domination? Is that where you’re going?” Hama asked calmly. Azula looked over to where Hama was simply levitating herself on a block of ice, watching quite contently as the others struggled. Azula lifted herself up to the ledge where Sainu and Aiki were sitting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look,” she began. “I have no idea what my father’s plans are for what happens after. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> know that he was a much better Firelord than my brother, who isn’t in the caring mood for the outlying villages and towns. I do know that my father wouldn’t ever pay what the Earth Kingdom believes it deserves if it meant harming our people.” He wouldn’t pay regardless, Azula had to admit to herself, but that was irrelevant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki nodded, and then pulled himself up. “Just wondering.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued on, although the question seemed to add an extra weight on Azula while she climbed, and by the time they had gotten to the top, she was starting to, like Aiki, wonder where this was all leading to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A nice little cottage where Sainu and I can live for the rest of our lives, she told herself. Or maybe not a cottage. Maybe we’ll just live in the Palace with Father and Aiki and Hama.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That didn’t sound too bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula peered over the edge of the prison. The helmets of guards patrolling the balconies glared back up at her. She counted 16 of them, and because usually the prison was guarded by 25 guards…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The majority were outside. Too easy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fall in, smokes,” she whispered. Aiki and Sainu were immediately at her side, while Hama took a little more time and a little more grumbling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki unslung the coil of rope, taking the end and whipping it slowly as he perused the roof of the prison. Finally, he sped up the rope until it was a blur in the air, let go, and ran after it. The rope flew around a sturdy rock before flying back, but Aiki was already there, snapping the rope back in on itself in a sure knot. He tugged to make sure the rope was secure before jogging back to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s go,” he said. He began to peter out the rope for Sainu as she descended from the roof and onto the first balcony. Azula watched, a bit nervous, but then the guard came, and Sainu deftly kicked him in the jaw. The guard fell back, unconscious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu caught the guard’s body and lowered him to the ground, softly and slowly, as Azula, Hama and finally Aiki climbed down. They waited for a few minutes for another guard to come up, but when no one did, they continued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next few balconies had only one guard, but as they made their way down to the bottom, the number of guards grew on every balcony. Finally, as Aiki cautiously peered over the next ledge, he grunted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s four on this one,” he whispered. Azula considered, then shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll leave them. If we take them all out, it will look too suspicious if anyone comes calling. Let’s just enter this place.” She stepped over the tangled limbs of the guards they had just disposed of until the moon lighted a small key on one of their belts. After a few minutes of trying to find a door, arguing over whether it would be easier to break a window and pondering the ethics of using the guard’s bodies to hide the shattered glass, Hama found the door and they sneaked into the complex.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The floor they had entered on hosted cells on either side of the hall. What little moonlight shone into the cells illuminated their occupants, although it seemed that this floor was not the one they searched for. Fire Nation prisoners, all important emissaries, diplomats, ministers… they were all here. She assumed they had betrayed her brother at some point, although none looked particularly happy to see her. One even made eye contact with her for a few moments, and then slowly raised his hand, the light in the hallway brushing upon his middle finger…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They kept moving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next few floors seemed to be the same - Fire Nation prisoners, alongside some Earth Kingdom ones, but as they passed floor after floor, they still didn’t find the agents, nor any guards, and Azula grew more and more worried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group reached the basement floor - their </span>
  <em>
    <span>last</span>
  </em>
  <span> floor, and Azula’s foot lightly clanged on pure metal. She smiled, the bars on the cells no longer there, but metal doors. She hurried up to the first one and flicked open a small viewing slit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A Dai Li agent was sitting in his cell, appearing to be meditating, but his eyes crinkled when her fiery light hit them. He opened them, recognised her, and stood, walking slowly to the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Firelord Azula?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waved that aside. “Formalities are of the least importance at the moment.” She fumbled with the keys she had strapped to her belt before inserting a couple and finally opening the door. The Dai Li agent bowed to them as he exited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he said as Azula made to speak. “No formalities. But thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula nodded. “Let’s get you all out of here.” She nodded to the smokes, and they all got to work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, many of the agents seemed to have forgotten Azula’s little banishment speech. They each thanked them as they left their cells, some stretching out their joints while others talked to their fellow agents for the first time in…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last cell stood at the end of the hallway. Azula smiled, knowing that this cell belonged to their Chief. They were almost done, they were almost there. She turned the key in its slot and the door opened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula stepped into the cell. The Dai Li Chief was facing away from her, kneeling on the… earthen floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was still dressed in their uniform: black and green robes, black and green hat, with his plait still worn long down his back, although this time it was tucked into his robe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula thought to move towards him, but… something was holding her back. Maybe it was the raised hairs on her arms and neck, maybe it was how she could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> that she was on earth and not metal… something wasn’t right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Dai Li Chief slowly turned… and his plait did not move like it should have. It stayed, almost painted to his neck, and when the moonlight shining through the barred windows hit his neck, the plait was nothing more than a blue stripe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula leapt into the air as the Avatar thrust his foot into the ground, and the earth beneath her crumbled.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Smoke Them Out Part Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Azula’s toe touched the cracking earth - she quickly leapt back up and flipped onto the metal platform, staying low to the ground as her cloak fluttered down around her. Her eyes narrowed as the Avatar smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I am impressed,” he said, staying resolutely on the earth. She heard the Dai Li agents immediately formed up behind her. Aang silently perused the group for a second. “Now let’s see… I… don’t know you,” he pointed. “Or you. Or you - or, actually… </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of you… I know you,” he pointed to Azula. “Obviously. But I think you’re going to have to introduce me to…” he blinked. “Hama. What an… unexpected surprise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama nodded sagely. “Good evening, Aang. How are you getting on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang shrugged, “Mostly? Fine. Although the entire city </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> on fire. I don’t suppose you want to help with that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that where Katara is?” No answer, and Hama’s mouth twitched. “How is my young protegee getting on? I had such a wonderful time teaching her… It would be a shame to find out she hasn’t… appreciated any of my lessons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang maintained a pleasant expression, but his eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with a rare anger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was time to move on, Azula thought. She slowly began to straighten from her crouched stance and nodded to the Avatar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should help her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmmm… nah. She’s doing fine, I’m sure. She’s probably worrying about us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door behind them slammed open. Azula glanced behind just in time to see the Kyoshi Warrior and her troupe enter the now very crowded corridor. Azula raised an eyebrow at Aang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still got your fangirls, I see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Kyoshi Warrior smiled. “Nice to see you too, Azula.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu turned to her. “You know </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> too many people who just want to kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula huffed out a laugh. “You know, once upon a time, everyone loved me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I find that very hard to believe,” Aiki said, and as the Kyoshi began to form a shield wall, he began to unstrap a long cord from around his waist. A small crumbling sound alerted her to the Avatar’s movement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait wait wait,” she gestured to the Avatar, and then turned to Aiki. “You’re supposed to be on </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> side, don’t go on and agree with them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Although, if you do want to agree with us -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m good,” Aiki said. “Sorry,” he added as an afterthought, and then looked confused as to why he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang shrugged. “I didn’t expect you to.” He slid his foot backwards, sinking it a little into the earth, when one final Kyoshi entered the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula turned around to see a small, determined girl slide into the Kyoshi line, with grey eyes and long brown hair, her hands constantly moving around the fans she held, the makeup they all wore now setting the gymnast as a true soldier, hardened by too many battles and too many sights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee nodded to Azula. “Hey. Long time, no see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they attacked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toph stood on the beach, the little grains of sand twisting about her as she ground her feet. The grains flowed and ebbed and moved like the tides, unpredictable at times but, if you knew them, stable. Like Katara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was how she had figured sandbending out, although Sugar Queen would probably never find out, and Toph had no inclination to tell her. Katara’s free emotions rippled and flowed like the tides she bent, and as Toph grew to understand her friend more, the more she let her own emotions shift and bend and move, but while Katara moved along with the ocean, Toph was happy to sway with the motions of the sands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It also helped that sand was really just a whole bunch of small earth clumps, she grinned, stretching her hands out in front of her, hearing her knuckles and fingers crack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was time to work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The city was a few hundred metres away from the beach, but how it sat inside the volcano made it seem like longer. No matter. Toph didn’t care much for a few extra metres anyway. She cracked her fists once more, and then jarred them over the sands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They leapt up to her will - she could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> them dancing in the sky, and so Toph began to dance with them. She pushed the sand from her, and although there was no wind, she felt a couple of goosebumps anyway as the sand rushed past her and sped up the mountainside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the first lot was near the city, she began to summon another lot. This was a bit harder, and indeed some of the sand she had already sent began to return to her, but she pushed them apart, pushing the first lot harder towards the city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A couple of cobblestones in the city felt cold, which immediately told her where her sand was making a shadow - everywhere else in the city was flaming hot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quite literally. It was worrying that she could feel it from here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph moved the sand along, its shadow quickly cooling the stones it passed over, until it came across nothing but heat, and so she dropped her load. The sand thumped onto the flames, and she could feel cooler cobblestones again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they reheated. Obviously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed the second lot of sand forward, summoning another lot, and then another. She and the sands danced around the beach as the fires heated the world around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then she was back… there. Back in the metal ship, back to being truly, very truly, blind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph closed her eyes (well, mind) from the memory. Don’t think about that, she thought. Concentrate. She pushed another lot of sand up, and then another. Don’t stop, she told herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because you can’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suki leapt into the air, twisting her body to avoid the spouts of fire that Azula and her friend shot at her. She landed lightly on the metal as the Kyoshi Warriors advanced. Behind the agents, Aang began to send sharp little slices of air into the fray, dancing on his block of earth as the Dai Li desperately tried to touch it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All but one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One Dai Li agent knelt in the centre of the group while around him skirmishes raged. One hand was pressed against the metal… he seemed to be waiting for… something, and as Suki watched him slowly lift his hand, the floor began to bulge. Suki hurried towards him -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A shard of rock burst through the metal as the Dai Li agent kept pulling on his source. Suki fell back, and immediately Izumi was there to cover for her, but the Dai Li agent didn’t strike. He’s close to collapsing, she thought. Bringing that earth through the metal… but it wouldn’t matter. The other Dai Li agents each grabbed a fistful of the earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The odds were now equalling dramatically. The rest of the Kyoshi Warriors rushed to meet them, and Suki gritted her teeth, her sword flashing out to accompany her shield-fan, and lunged at her nearest opponent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which happened to the new girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stumbled back, taken by surprise a little, before scowling and rewriting her stance, holding her own as they fought against the wall of the corridor. She slammed a fire-fist at Suki, who narrowly dodged it before slashing back with her sword. The girl leaned back, but couldn’t avoid a rather ugly slash on her cheek. She yelped, wiping her cheek and glaring at the droplets of blood on Suki’s sword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s new to this, Suki thought, and she pressed forward, slicing her sword through little cracks of the girl’s defences. She stumbled, and then -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl slammed her foot into the ground. Fire wrought the metal around Suki’s feet and she tripped, the girl kicked her square in the chest and Suki flew back, slamming through a cell door and banging her head on the barred window on the other side of the prison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the world righted itself again, everything was dark, with only a small slither of light peeking through the eye-slit. The girl peered down at her, gorgeous amber eyes looking almost guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” she said, and the door locked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki groaned, falling back on the floor, her head ringing louder than the thumps of the fighters outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Appa flew over the city, carefully avoiding the fires shooting up tall poles and buildings. Every once in a while, a surprise jet of flames would rush up at him, and Appa would jerk away from the smoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara stood silently on his back, slowly feeling the power of the full moon rage inside her as the world around her burned. Her fingers tingled, feeling the water that was so close to her, almost touchable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then a cloud passed away from the moon, and she opened her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She danced with the waters: the water that rushed through the sewers, the water that ebbed on the shores, the water that crashed on the rocky cliffs, the water that flowed in little rivers and sat content in little lakes. She felt them all, and when she moved, so did they.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon, she couldn’t see the sky. All that was there was a wave of power. The ocean around Capitol City rose higher and higher into the night, threatening to crash and flood the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara held it up there, her arms shaking as the bottom of the waves left their source and began to form a roof over the city, its walls slowly disappearing as the roof got bigger and bigger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her right hand lowered, and a small stream of water rushed out, the stream hitting a pole of flames about to topple over. Removing the fire wouldn’t stabilise it, but it would be better for it to fall extinguished than for it to fall flaming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara focused on another blaze, and sent a hose of water to tackle that blaze, until the sky opened and she was pouring the water everywhere, into every nook and cranny as the oceans and clouds gave her droplet after droplet, stream after stream. She drank in the energy deeply as the city’s glow began to dim.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lightning arced through the air towards him. His eyes narrowed as he watched the crackling energy, and he reset his stance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lightning cracked into Aang. He could feel it buzzing around his arms, his legs, before his conscious grasped the flailing qi, and he sent it out through the barred window with a flash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula rolled her eyes as she prepared herself for another attack, but then the new girl lightly touched her shoulder, and whispered something quick to her. Azula nodded, and gestured for her to move out. She smiled at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, pleasure seeing you again, but I’m afraid we </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to go now.” Aang glanced around the room. The Kyoshi Warriors were still fighting, but he could tell it was hard. The new source of earth a now collapsed agent had summoned was proving difficult to dodge, let alone let them get close for a real attack, but Mirai and Ty Lee seemed to be doing well, and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki wasn’t there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He met Azula’s laughing eyes before she turned to leave. Oh, fuck you, he thought, and the air around him trembled. He drew his right foot back as he waited for the air’s energy to flow through him, faster and hotter than any flame he had ever summoned, before whirling his body around, arcing his foot over himself and slamming it hard on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whip of air </span>
  <em>
    <span>cut</span>
  </em>
  <span> through the metal floor as it carved through the air towards Azula. The Dai Li agents leapt out of the way as the metal on the ground writhed and contorted, screeching an agonising tune through the corridor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula did not move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She </span>
  <em>
    <span>caught</span>
  </em>
  <span> the air in her hand as she summoned a flame. The air did not cut, but only strengthened her fires as she hurled it through the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she didn’t aim at Aang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Asa and Seika had been fighting as a duo, which they always did, holding off four agents as they tried to break through to Azula. Aang only had just enough time to shout before the fireball hammered the ground underneath them, and they flew apart: Asa into one wall and Seika into the other. Seika immediately began to right herself, groaning as she dragged herself up. Hina raced over to help her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Asa did not stir. Aang hurried over to her, panic filling him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the Dai Li agents filed quickly out of the room as Azula looked back at the girl. She looked almost… guilty. Terribly guilty, but Aang knew he was imagining things. There was no way…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then she turned, and the moment was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang reached Asa, and turned her upright. Both eyes were closed, her nose was bleeding profusely but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was breathing. As he laid his hand on her, he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> the air entering and leaving her body, could </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear</span>
  </em>
  <span> her heart beating in her chest. He sighed, relieved, as Seika limped over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just unconscious.” Aang shook his head, worn out. “Fuck, that was stupid of me. I… I got you both hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seika shook her head. “No. That wasn’t you. Azula was the one to strike.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could have killed her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seika sighed, carefully lowering herself to the ground before placing a hand on Aang’s back. “You did what any of us would have done. You struck a blow when you had the chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could have killed her,” Aang repeated, numb, and to his growing surprise, he realised he wasn’t talking about Asa anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But about Azula.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, annoyed at himself but… for another reason… </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He couldn’t figure out what, and that was killing him. He turned to the Kyoshi Squad. “Where’s Suki?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One by one, they shrugged. Aang grimaced, “We need to find her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Ty Lee said, straightening. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to find her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to go get Azula.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula was pretty sure she had just killed that girl. And she wanted to throw up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few corridors, as the Dai Li agents rushed forward to freedom, Azula stopped, leaning against the wall as she shook. Fuck, what have I </span>
  <em>
    <span>done?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Against all instinct, she wanted to go back. Wanted to check, to see if…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If they had been right after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>deserved</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be in that jacket again, maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>deserved</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be back in… there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe her bending should have been taken like her father’s… maybe…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe her mother was right. Maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>a monster, maybe…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula looked up, her eyes stinging as she held everything in. Maybe she had held it in for too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama was standing there, glittering eyes firm and form harsh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop… what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop. I want you to stop thinking what you’re thinking. Believe me, it isn’t worth it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula shook her head, her words wobbling around her. “How would you know what I’m thinking?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a bloodbender. How could I </span>
  <em>
    <span>not?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula blinked. “Oh… right. Sorry,” she added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t apologise. That’s not worth your time either.” Hama reached out a crinkly hand. “Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula went along, first letting Hama guide her before they began to pick up the pace. A few corridors along, Hama spoke again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What you did… was powerful. It was harsh. It was everything the </span>
  <em>
    <span>old</span>
  </em>
  <span> you was.” Azula turned her head away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Hama continued. “The old you would have killed her. But you didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula whipped her head around, studying the serious woman’s face. Not a lie stood out to her, yet…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That… what would have killed her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You held back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula sighed. “I… I didn’t mean to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you glad you did?” But it wasn’t a question. It was a truth, and Azula almost smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Hama?” The old woman turned. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama laughed. “Don’t thank me yet. You’ll have done your first kill before we’re finished, believe me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There seemed to be a commotion up ahead. Azula and Hama hurried forward as the Dai Li set themselves up in a fighting stance. Azula pushed through and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A cocky, intelligent devil of a bastard stood before her, twirling his sword through his fingers as his sharp blue eyes met her own. “Hey Azula,” Sokka said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Since </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Li shouted over the blaze. “Was it a good idea to fight a massive fire with more fucking fire?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since now!” Zuko yelled back, sidestepping as a flaming tongue leapt out at him. He caught the lash, pulling on it, drawing the fire out thin. Li grabbed his own whip of flames and the two stumbled backwards, dragging the flames out -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A waterfall cascaded onto their whips, the water dousing the flames as steam rose hot through the night. The fire had evaporated a bit of the water, but Li and Zuko’s stretches of flame were completely gone. Zuko waved at Katara, who waved back quickly before flying Appa to another blaze. Zuko and Li immediately began to work on the blaze again, pulling the flames thin. Sometimes, they were stretched so much their fuel ran out and they died on their own. Other times, they had to wait for a helpful splash of water or sand to take them out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko and Li </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> extinguish a blaze on their own, but it would take time, too much time, and so much energy. Zuko hadn’t had enough sleep for this kind of fight, and he didn’t think Li had had any either. It was, in theory, much faster to control the blaze until Katara or Toph would dump their loads of water or sand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In practise, it seemed every flicker they extinguished, another flame would replace it, stronger and hotter than the last, and while Katara and Toph were prodigal benders, there were only two of them. They would need to stop the flames from the heart to stop the veins of flames lashing up and down the streets of his city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But with General Mason gone, there was no central figure leading the fight. The military was being temporarily led by General Osama, but she had the rest of the city to run as well. The fight, having seemed so strong and maybe even controllable for a month, was now flailing, scrabbling at any crevice or handle that could be in its grasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But none seemed to hold… every opportunity or idea just slipped from them. And now, Zuko was slipping too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to focus as he and Li advanced on the flames, trying to send their flaming whips in to catch a lick of fire they could stretch out. Zuko felt something connect and he yanked back on the string. The heat parted as he uncovered his prize: a massive flaming ball that heaved and hauled and tried desperately to escape his hold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko guessed it was lucky that he was more desperate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe that was a bad thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A vibrating chunk of sand sputtered its way over and fell onto the fireball. Its anger dampened, Li lashed his own fire whip onto it, and as they pulled away from each other as ever so slowly, the ball began to writhe itself into a spluttering string. With a final crack, the flames died.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li sighed, his tired face darkened now the street’s blaze was now mostly gone. Zuko shut his eyes. Just a few moments, his brain thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A resounding </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack</span>
  </em>
  <span> shook the air, and his eyes snapped open. Li was standing next to him, his face turning paler and paler in the full moon’s light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck this can’t be happening,” he whispered, and then took off. Zuko pushed himself off the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Li, wait!” he shouted, but Li kept going. Zuko sprinted up to him. “Hey - what was that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li didn’t say anything, but when they rounded the next corner, Zuko didn’t have to press.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li’s apartment block was crumbling to the ground, wood </span>
  <em>
    <span>splintering</span>
  </em>
  <span> off the bricks as they tumbled. Inside, Zuko could hear screams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So many screams.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Smoke Them Out Part Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Azula regarded him, arrogant amber eyes glowing in the dark like embers. Sokka quickly assessed what lay ahead of him as the agents began to shuffle themselves into position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Around twenty of them, all wearing the same uniform, so Sokka suspected that aside from the Dai Li Chief, there was no leader.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, unfortunately, he knew exactly what had happened to the Chief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But right now, they seemed to be following a mixture of their own instincts and Azula’s commands. They had set themselves up in what Sokka assumed would be a ‘V’ formation in a wider space, but the narrow confines of the corridor weren’t helping matters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The narrowness wasn’t helping Sokka either, but he pushed that away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula stepped to the front, followed by a boy around her height, who was fiddling with a long whip, a taller girl who was sporting a rather large cut on her cheek - no doubt a Kyoshi had done that to her - and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hama,” Sokka said. The woman inclined her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A pleasure to see you again.” He frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama huffed out a raspy laugh as Azula said, quite abruptly, “You’re standing in our way. Do you want to move or be moved?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka considered. “Neither sounds good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula raised an eyebrow. “You’re… </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite</span>
  </em>
  <span> outnumbered,” she remarked dryly. Sokka nodded, flipping his sword from his right hand to his left. The cold night air bit through his clothes as he took a casual step back onto the balcony. The other girl began to take a step forward but he raised his sword up to her chest, blocking her advance. Azula immediately took a stance, sensing something was off and Sokka smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does… </span>
  <em>
    <span>seem</span>
  </em>
  <span> that way, doesn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The walls opened up and fire rained in. He felt the heat of the fires char his clothes and he hurriedly took another few steps back. Not exactly dignified, but no one was watching him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula was standing on one of the sides of the corridor, her arms raised as she deflected as many of the flames as she could. On the other side, a couple of the Dai Li had shoved the earth around them up into the floor above, but they were struggling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were twenty firebending guards behind each wall of flames, and a further ten non-bending chi blockers. Sokka would hope they were struggling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new girl that Sokka’s sword had stopped ran over to Azula, but the princess had gestured for her to help the other agents, and now she took her own stance as the boy charged him on the balcony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka flung his sword up in time to block the boy’s whip. The rope wrapped around the metal and Sokka jerked back, the boy stumbling. Sokka went to cut the whip as the boy fell to the ground but as he studied it, he found little bands of wire intertwined. If he cut the rope, he would leave the metal bare, and get a far worse injury. He shook his head in a bit of admiration as the other boy rose and pulled back his weapon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is so smart,” Sokka said. The boy frowned, and something about it seemed… familiar to Sokka, but he couldn’t place it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” the boy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The metal in the rope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glanced down, and Sokka slammed his foot forward, striking while the boy was distracted, but it didn’t work as well as he had wanted it to. The boy dodged the sword at the last possible moment, earning a rather ugly slash on his shoulder instead of the sword biting into his arm, maybe even severing it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy leapt back onto the balcony banister, and Sokka frowned. Risky move: all Sokka would have to do was unbalance him…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But first he’d have to get to him. The boy now had the advantage of height. His feet shuffled on the narrow banister, his eyes narrowing, and again, Sokka felt like this wasn’t the first time…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” the boy said, twirling the end of his whip in the air before flashing it forward. “But I didn’t make this. My dad did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka grunted as he ducked and rolled. The whip followed him as his body left each of the stones. He finally slammed the pommel of his sword into the flying end: the bulb deflected and he jumped back onto his feet. “Smart guy. Can I meet him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already have,” the kid said, his eyes burning a chill through him. “You killed him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Sokka knew where he had seen him before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Li, unfortunately, didn’t have a plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or, rather, not one Zuko could make out. The sergeant had simply bolted into the building, disregarding the rather un-disregardable fact that the said building was on fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so Zuko followed him in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The heat </span>
  <em>
    <span>engulfed</span>
  </em>
  <span> him as he pushed himself through the flames, wiping his hand across ways in front of him, creating an opening in the fire. Ahead, he saw Li’s smoky silhouette running towards a door. The sergeant jiggled the handle a few times before taking a few steps back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Li…” Zuko warned, coughing a few clouds of smoke out, but Li kicked his foot into the door. He swore as the door shuddered, but didn’t open. “That door opens outwards,” Zuko finished. Li rolled both his eyes and his ankle as he nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he breathed smoke out before straightening and pressing his hand against the door. “Anyone in there?” he yelled, the heat cracking his voice into pieces. For a few seconds that stretched themselves into an eternity, they could only hear the cracks of wood and screams that echoed from other rooms. But then,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Li?” a voice shouted back. Li sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tai! You guys ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re stuck,” Tai yelled. “There’s a board blocking the door, and we can’t get to the window.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li nodded, and turned to Zuko. “I’m going to burn the door down.” Zuko nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s do this,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tai!” Li yelled. “Get as far from the door as you can.” They heard a couple of shuffles as they took their stances.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three…” Zuko muttered. “Two… One… Now.” Together, they kicked their legs forward into the ground and shoved their hands onto the door, ribbons of fire curling around their fingers and fists as they slowly, slowly, pushed against the wood…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it gave in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a groaning shriek, the door fell forwards, and Zuko saw the beam of wood tumble down as well. Smoke billowed up as the wood crashed onto the ground. Li and Zuko charged straight into it, and as the smoke faded, Zuko saw four huddled figures on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tai!” Li reached the group first, and began to lift up a man, but he refused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Help them first,” he wheezed. Li looked conflicted, but he nodded, bending down and picking up two kids, swinging them over his shoulders and running out. Zuko hurried forward to help the woman. She was pushing herself up from the floor in a coughing fit. When Zuko went to help her, she pointed to her husband.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Him… get him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko quickly glanced over at the man, but then turned back to the woman. “He’ll be alright,” he said as they began to stumble out of the apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hoped he was right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had almost reached the door of the building when Zuko felt Li run back in. The sergeant saw the woman, but not Tai, being supported and he ran back into the same apartment. Zuko kept going until he was on the street, the smoke lessening only slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the side of the street, the two kids Li had saved were crumpled against each other, three elderly women holding them. Zuko lowered the woman next to them, and she gave a little cry when she saw her children were alright. She enveloped them in a hug, before turning back to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tai… where’s…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the women grasped her hand, and they turned back to the flames. Zuko ran back towards the building as Li left, a staggering Tai draped over his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are six apartments in the building!” Li yelled over at him. “The top one’s mine but no one is inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And in they went again, bringing out more and more families that had been trapped. The second home had no one inside: they had all gotten out, thankfully. The third and fourth homes were on the second floor. Zuko didn’t know how the stairs held themselves up through the chaos, but he was glad they did as he, Li and Tai, who was apparently feeling better, helped the other families out of the flames.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, they had only one apartment left to cover: the fifth one on the third floor. It was the only home on that floor, but when they entered the apartment, they found… no one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to Li. “Where…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Li closed his eyes, and pointed. Zuko and Tai turned…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A burnt mass appeared to them in the biggest bedroom. The three bodies </span>
  <em>
    <span>writhed</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the heat, but Zuko knew that there was no life in them, only the winds of the smoke that furled through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko felt a puddle of bile climbing up his throat. He forced it down with whatever saliva he could procure in the fire, but it seemed that Li was out. He staggered over to the window, leaning against the flaming wood as he puked into the courtyard below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The vomit evaporated before it touched the stones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tai laid a heavy hand on Zuko, and another one on Li. “Come on, boys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stumbled out of the apartment, quickening their pace as they reached the stairs, hurrying down them as they splintered and fractured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last flight of stairs lay ahead of them. Zuko pushed Tai in front of him, and then Li, before descending himself. As he reached the halfway stair, it shattered underneath his foot. He yelped, jumping out of the hole. A hand snatched the back of his shirt as Tai and Li pulled him down the rest of the stairs and they all tumbled out of the building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko watched as hands, both young and old, dragged the three of them away from the building. The fire cracked its final whip and the building began to rattled and broke, the final floors falling down. He brought his hands up in front of him as the fire began to race towards them. Screams filled the street once more…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A wave of mud whooshed past them, the water somehow not evaporating in the heat as it doused the flames, the earth smothering the smoke until the only light in the street came from the moon. Zuko opened his eyes, pushing himself up on his arm as he turned around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara and Toph stood at the end of the street, mountains of water and waves of earth rolling around the city behind them, their bright eyes dimming as the fires around them were extinguished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aang slammed the final door down as he bolted through the prisons. The metal felt hot to the touch, and when his eyes finally adjusted to the dancing lights that glared at him from the darkness, he knew why.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All that lay ahead was heat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spouts of fire completely barred the corridor. Firebending guards lined the cell doorways as flanked the Dai Li. Azula and the new girl were standing against the flames, as though of the same mind and strength. Together, they moved with the fires, pushing them back onto the guards. The agents had summoned earth from the ground, trying to smother the flames that blocked their escape. Hama stood, quite solemn and reverent, in the middle of the chaos.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang shoved his foot into the ground, the dust swirling around him as the earth cracked and contorted. Shards of the floor leapt up and flew at the agents as Aang created little fires of his own to dwell in them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They exploded, dripping the molten rock onto the floor around the Dai Li. The shards sizzled as they melted. A few of the agents turned to him, the fire lighting up faces of fear, anger and shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang slid his foot around him as the next wave of his attack came: the air around him tore itself apart in its haste to throw the agents around. He managed to pick up ten of the agents before he catapulted them down the corridor, the prison guards seizing the opportunity to shoot flames at the agents, and they fell from the ceiling with cries of agony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fires died down, and Aang could see the opening of the corridor: it led onto the balcony and into the night, and in the dimming light, Aang could see two wrestling figures dance around each other, a sword and a whip clashing and flying in the night sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula saw the opening as well, and as the guards paused their assault to reassess the situation, she took it. “Move it, guys!” The Dai Li fell in behind Hama as she led them out onto the balcony. Azula and the girl covered a few of their backs as Aang and the guards rained down fire and hailing rocks onto them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last group of agents started to leave. Azula and the girl turned away… something on the balcony? It didn’t matter. Aang sprinted forward, his feet lightly tapping pockets of air as he rose towards the ceiling. Slowly, he poured flames into the prison doors around him. It bent and twisted to his will.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not metalbending, but close enough, he thought. He wrangled the doors until they were gliding towards the last group of agents, and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors slammed into them, glueing them to the sides of the prison. They shrieked as the burning metal squeezed them tight, but Aang kept running towards the exit. They had to stop all of the units </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they just </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to, otherwise…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There might not be another chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang burst into the cold night air on the balcony. The Dai Li were beginning to propel themselves up to the prison roof in their escape, bending the ground underneath to raise them higher and higher. Aang reset his stance, and then pulled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Dai Li’s mounds of earth </span>
  <em>
    <span>shook</span>
  </em>
  <span>: their benders taken by surprise, a couple of them fell back to the balcony, but the further away they were, the more control they retained of their blocks. Azula whirled around, furious, as she felt dust and rocks crumble down around her. She yelled, throwing a punch at him. Aang leapt out of the way as a missile of fire slammed into the stones next to his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment he landed, he was forced to jump again as the other girl fired. He twisted in the air, trying to pull on the earthen blocks flying away in the night, but the Dai Li had stronger grips, and they pulled away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang landed on the balcony again, but this time, the girls didn’t attack. Aang looked up as they rose from the prison on bended earth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something cracked the ground behind him. Aang whirled around just in time to see a corded whip strike near Sokka’s right hand. He snatched his hand back, scowled and then threw himself at the other guy, bringing his sword down in a massive slice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy pushed himself back, flinging the end of his whip up into the sky. Aang watched as it began to curl around the block of earth Azula was standing on as it rose away from the prison…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No…” Aang groaned as he began to run. The air around him moved to his will and he snaked coils of it around the rope, loosening its hold. The boy had leapt from the balcony to escape, but as Aang untied the rope, he began to fall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula cursed. “Collapse it,” she told the agent next to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang didn’t understand what she meant until the earth around him began to shatter. He leapt up onto the balcony above him as the level below him caved in on itself. The boy was still holding onto his whip and he flew away as the rocks and walls and roofs pounded the balcony below…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Sokka with it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aiki hit the ground running as Azula’s earth-bent block hovered over the beach. He stumbled a bit on the sands but gave her a thumbs up as she too landed. The block she stood on dissolved into millions of fine grains. She bolted over to him as he began to push himself back up from the beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m good, I’m good,” Aiki hurried to assure her. Azula put an arm under him and helped heave him up. He quickly shoved his right leg forward to steady himself, his hand clutched against his left thy. She looked down, but he waved her away. “I’m fine, Azula.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just…” Aiki sighed. “Let’s just get out of here first. Then we can deal with… everything else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula nodded. They turned as Sainu ran up to them. “Aiki! Are you -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m good.” He shoved his hand on his leg again, and Azula stepped forward to cover it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s… what happened?” Azula stood on her tiptoes as she cupped Sainu’s gorgeous face in her hands. Her finger wiped blood away from Sainu’s cheek. Sainu sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m good, Azula.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to go,” Hama’s withering voice interrupted. She faced the Dai Li, who were spread out across the beach. “We’ll need you to bend your way through the waters. Can you do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The agents all turned to one other: a younger, though much more tired looking man. He nodded. “Where are we headed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kosuki Island,” Azula said absentmindedly. Something was off, there were meant to be more…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She counted. And then recounted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Sainu asked. Azula counted again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a squad missing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man looked over his troops. “Squad Three. They must not have gotten out. A loss, but nothing we can’t -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need,” Azula ground out. “All the Dai Li.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula, we don’t…” Aiki began, but Azula ignored him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> all the squads,” she groaned. She couldn’t fail, she could </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> fail -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going back.” Azula began to run back up the beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Azula!” Sainu yelled, racing to keep up, but Azula pushed her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sainu… Aiki, you guys stay. Hama, you too. You guys get all the Dai Li off the island and over to Kosuki. I’ll go get the rest. I’ll be back,” she added as they all began to protest. “Before you know it.” And she disappeared up the trail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu whirled around to Hama. “Are you kidding me? She… ugh!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama shrugged, speaking softly, “She’s your girlfriend, Sainu. You’re the one that’s meant to know her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu glared at her, but Hama ignored it, turning back to the others. They filled the beach up, but Hama knew Azula was right. They needed </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them. “Aiki and Sainu will oversee the evacuation. I will go back and assist the princess -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you leave too,” Aiki warned, but Hama waved it away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aiki, listen. Azula will be fine, but if I’m being honest here, she’s letting her ambition and her pride overcome any rationality she has. She needs help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then let us come with you,” Sainu said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. You two need to get the agents back to Kosuki. We,” she added. “Will be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Aiki nodded, and turned to the agents, but Sainu stayed resolute. Hama sighed, and brought her in close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that you want her to be safe,” Hama said softly. “She wants the same for you. And right now, the best way to keep both of you safe is to limit distractions. And if you two were to go fight together again tonight, you would distract each other. And one, if not both, of you would get hurt.” Sainu’s expression wilted with these words. Hama clapped her on the back. “You’ll figure out how to fight together in time, but for now, I need you out of here. I’ll get your girlfriend back, don’t worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu smiled shakily. “You’d better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama huffed out a laugh, before turning back towards the prison. It was time to see what this princess was really made of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything and nothing surrounded him at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he was thrown back, back to being in pain, back to being trapped… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back to Niapao.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rocks chafed against his skin as he lay there, unable to move, unable to </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span>, as the rocks kept tumbling down on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They closed in on him, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit</span>
  </em>
  <span> into him as he lay there, jarred from the past to the present and back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just breathe, something… or someone, told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he couldn’t. Not when everything was pressing against him, pressing him down, pushing him from side to side until he couldn’t move, couldn’t see, couldn’t think…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then a crack of light streamed through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He groaned, trying to lift his hand to block it when he realised he… </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> move his hand. It was free from the rocks! He moved the other one, and then began to push himself up towards the light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last rock fell away from him. Sokka wretched a hacking cough into the night air as a hand tightened around his wrist and pulled him up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka!” Aang exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. “Man, are you ok? Shit, I’m so sorry, I couldn't get to you -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude,” Sokka softly laughed it off. “I’m good…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang held him out at arm’s length, inspected him, and then pulled him in another hug. “You sure?” his voice was muffled against him. Sokka nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, Aang let go, and they climbed out of the rubble, Aang bending a few more rocks out of the way to make a little path. The night air fell away from them when they entered the prison, but every hair on Sokka’s arms stood up, yearning to feel the air, feel the </span>
  <em>
    <span>freedom</span>
  </em>
  <span>, once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stop this, he told himself. It’s not worth it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they pushed against the confines anyway. And once again, he pushed it down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Four Dai Li agents were propped up against the wall, metal twisted around them tight. Aang sighed. “We only captured this squad. The others got away, as well as Azula and Hama and those new guys… Any ideas on who they are?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka didn’t answer, his mind drifting off to another time… another man…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He went to speak when a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>bang</span>
  </em>
  <span> rocked the prison. The two of them whirled, Sokka closing his hand around his sword more tightly as Aang fell back into a stance. As the smoke began to clear, a figure entered the corridor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you again,” Sokka said as he recognised Azula. “What do you want now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula smiled at him. “You have some friends of mine I’d like to have at my side… instead of in your prison.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang shrugged. “We can’t all get what we want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunate for you.” Azula’s fingers lit up with a crackle of lightning. She raised her hands up at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get back!” Aang yelled, shoving Sokka aside as he prepared to redirect the energy, but Azula didn’t fire at them. Her lighting slammed into the wall, the earth cracking as slowly, the metal doors binding the Dai Li agents began to shudder. Sokka pushed himself off the wall, swinging his sword at Azula as he neared. The princess dodged and flipped to escape its edge, but she couldn’t control her lightning and avoid him at the same time. The lightning petered out with a bang, and her eyes narrowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang came up from the other side. The Dai Li agents were still bound by the metal, and the prison guards were watching them in case anything happened. The boys backed Azula in a corner. Aang flicked his hand, air shooting from around him and a door behind Azula opened, revealing a cell. Behind them, the guards and the agents stopped making much noise, until all they could hear was their own breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula glanced behind her quickly, and realised what they were leading her into. With a yell, she kicked a flaming ball in front of her, but Aang rolled over the fire easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Getting a little tired, Azula?” Sokka asked, levelling his sword at her chest. She shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just getting started,” she promised, and the ground around them began to shake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang sent a massive quake through the ground, cracking the earth around them as the four agents formed up behind them. He frowned, “How…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A fifth figure stepped in front of them, the moon lighting up her eyes as she swayed gently from side to side, as fluid as water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama raised her hands, and Aang was thrown back into the prison wall. His body slammed against the metal and he slid down onto the floor, his eyes slowly unfocusing and focusing again. Sokka yelled, sweeping his sword against Hama, striking as her concentration was distracted -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hand unclenched, his sword dropped, and he felt every bone begin to pop. Bolt after bolt of pain washed through him as everything around him was overtaken by darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cold water caressed the side of his face. He coughed and opened his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara was kneeling over him as she guided the water over his body. She caught his eye and shook her head disapprovingly. “Idiot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that…” he groaned. “... </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> I heard that word?” he waved his hand around vaguely and she laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You,” she rolled her eyes. “Are the most insufferable brother a girl could have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad to hear it.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. A Bit of Change</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The four of them sat in the cavern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akito, who spoke for Wantu Town, was pouring out cups of tea for them all. The first he passed to Sah: she had been chosen on behalf of Bhilu Town. The next cup was passed to Hikaru of Lira Town, the man whom Azula, Sainu and Hama had spoken to. And last, Akito passed a cup to Ozai. Ozai nodded his thanks as he took a sip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tea was good, he considered. It was… alright. It was hard to make a proper judgement when all he had known was his brother’s tea and then, when he had left, the slightly worse but still blissful Palace tea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But this… this was pretty good. He set his cup down and looked out the cavern entrance. The dark hues of the sky were beginning to be painted lighter and lighter; streaks of yellow and red and pink covered the sky and dappled themselves onto the clouds as the sun rose higher and higher…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the beach stood still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firelord?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” He turned back - Sah had asked him something. “Ah… forgive me, Sah. What were you saying?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just wondering how Bhilu Town may be of further service after Nakida is taken. I know that, due to our proximity to Nakida, we will be able to refuge any troops or citizens that you need us to, but after the city is taken, well…” Sah pointed at the map spread out on the sand in the middle of their makeshift circle. “Lira,” she tapped the town, “will be of great use in terms of supplying lumber and of being a sort of naval base, if you will.” They all nodded, and she continued. “Wantu,” she moved her finger. “Is very agricultural based. And of course Nakida has both firebenders galore and a factory to boot, not to mention their size and importance to the Capitol. We get our supplies from the other towns, but Bhilu Town have no resources of their own to offer the cause.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but it is not your resources I am after, but your minds,” Ozai said. “Bhilu Town is known for their scholars and architects and inventors… don’t worry about your contributions, Sah. Your town will provide many, and help us win this war.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sah leaned back, appearing more at ease, although as every second passed, Ozai became more and more tense. Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> they?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other leaders began to discuss numbers and trade routes and, oh, how much </span>
  <em>
    <span>simpler</span>
  </em>
  <span> this will all be when Nakida City was taken, and Ozai’s mind began to wander again, for as long as the clouds rolled across the sky, covering the sun and then letting it spill all its glory onto the sands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as Ozai peered out the cavern entrance, he realised that light wasn’t the only thing spreading across the beach. One by one, massive chunks of earth crawled up to the beach, dissolving into sand as their riders stepped off. Ozai chugged the rest of his tea, ignoring how it burned the back of his throat, and excused himself quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Ozai neared the group, the last transport: Hama’s massive block of ice, melted back into the waves and Hama, Azula and another squad of Dai Li ran onto the beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know what they were running to until the crowds of Dai Li began to part a little and through the gaps he saw Aiki stumble and fall onto the sands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula shoved past the crowds of Dai Li, and there he was. Lying on his back on the sand, one hand clenched on his thy, small rivers of blood spurting up between his fingers. Sainu was trying to get him to drink some water, but everytime they tried, he coughed and wheezed and sputtered it all back out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to Hama, who was standing solemnly a few feet away, and commanded, “Heal him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama shook her head. “I cannot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heal him!” Azula thundered. “You’re a waterbender! You can do that shit, so do it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hama smiled sadly. “It’s not that simple, child. Only a rare few are born with the ability to heal. I was never gifted with that power.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula turned back to Aiki, shuddering a small breath out as she knelt down beside him. Sainu looked up at her, her amber eyes filled with worry. She felt a small touch on her leg and she glanced down as Aiki’s hand reached up and grasped her own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said. “It’s not… not that deep. I’ll be -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut. The fuck. Up,” Sainu and Azula chorused, and Aiki did just that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula felt someone kneel next to her and she turned to see her father there, and her spirits lifted slightly. He’ll know what to do about this, she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai lifted Aiki’s hand off the wound, and looked at it quickly, before placing both his hands down on the bleeding. He looked over at Azula. “Bandages are in the cavern. One of the supply bags.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a second for Azula to realise he wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get them, but then she was off, racing across the sands. On the way through the cavern entrance, she quite literally bumped into Akito, Hikaru and an </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> attractive older woman as they made their way towards the commotion, but there was no time for greetings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula lit a small flame in her left hand as she searched with her right, quickly overturning bags until at last, a small pocket held a set of smartly wrapped bandages. She grabbed a few rolls and shoved all but one in her pocket as she raced out of the cavern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she neared them once more, Hama’s bent stream of water rushed past her, circled once above them before melding around Ozai’s hands, which were still applying pressure to the bleeding. The water weaved in and around the wound, cleaning it of any sand or dirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula went to hand a bandage to her father, but he stopped her. “You do it, and do it quickly. He’s completely out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula only looked quickly over at Aiki’s quiet, closed face before she began to fiddle with the bandage, but it would not open. She dragged her fingernail over the surface of the roll, trying to find the end, but it just wasn’t there, and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry up,” her father hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not… here!” she found it at last! Azula quickly unrolled the bandage and began to wrap it around Aiki’s leg. As she moved down close to the wound, Sainu held the bandage in place while Ozai slowly worked his hands off Aiki’s thy. Once the first bandage was on, Azula gave her father a roll to work with while she unrolled another one of her own, and at last, Aiki’s leg was wrapped completely, with only a speckle of blood visible up top.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki was still unconscious. Ozai smiled sadly down at him. “He needs rest,” he said, and then with surprising strength he gently lifted the boy up, before turning to the Dai Li. “Anyone else injured?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One by one, they shook their heads, and Ozai slowly walked back to the cave with Aiki in his arms and Hama following. Azula looked over at Sainu, where a bloody streak was still visible. She stood on her tiptoes as she cupped her girlfriend’s face. “Are you… how is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu gently clutched Azula’s hands, lowering them down again. “It’s stopped bleeding. I’ll wash the blood off later.” She nodded to the rest of the Dai Li, who were awkwardly milling around on the beach while they waited for instruction. “I see you got the other squad out,” she said, and Azula couldn’t miss the sprinkle of acidity in her tone. Azula looked up at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. I… I had to, we couldn’t just leave without -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know, I just…” Sainu sighed. “I wish you’d let us help you more. You try to do everything on your own, and you can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>work</span>
  </em>
  <span> like this, Azula.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula smiled, squeezed Sainu’s warm hands, and turned to face the Dai Li agents. Sainu… may be right? She honestly did not know, but she couldn’t dwell on it now. There was work to be done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aiki didn’t even recognise the beach when he left the cave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had woken, alone in semi-darkness, and had immediately sat up in his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which, he discovered, was not a good idea. His eyes slowly rolled around in his skull, his head began to throb, which was strange because he couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember</span>
  </em>
  <span> when his head had been hit, but maybe heads just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt</span>
  </em>
  <span> when other body parts hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Injuries were weird as well as painful. He noted to himself that he should avoid such events in the future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki groaned as the last of the darkness faded from his vision and he recognised the cavern. It was a small, quiet little thing, crammed with their supplies and bed rolls and sheets and food, but he smiled as he breathed in the slightly odorous stench.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had no doubt that he had contributed quite a healthy portion of that smell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But although the bed was warm and the cavern entrance let in little paint swatches of sunlight that glowed the place up, he pushed himself out of his sleeping bag, kicking the end of the bed in an attempt to free his leg…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It </span>
  <em>
    <span>jarred </span>
  </em>
  <span>with pain, as if the sword was reopening his leg. He gritted his teeth against a cry of pain as his leg shuddered and moaned like an old tree in the wind. Finally, he kicked his other, less sore, leg out of the sheets and scuttled himself backwards as he freed himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki’s leg was covered in bandages. Way too many bandages. He laughed as he counted them. Three? Three full bandages, he thought, chuckling. They really could have used one, two if it was that bad, but three?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was how you could </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell</span>
  </em>
  <span> they were royals. He shook his head in disbelief as he experimentally wiggled his toes, and found, to great surprise and much relief, that he could still feel them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki pushed himself up from the ground, careful to rely on the beds and supplies in his journey up so the sands wouldn’t shift unexpectedly and topple him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he walked, grasping the sides of the cavern as he staggered through the entrance, trying and miserably failing to put as little weight on it as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun hit his face, and his eyes adjusted to the beach, which was… different.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a little path from the cavern down to the shoreline, and a bigger one coming from Lira Town, but the rest of the beach was little temporary huts, with a not so temporary port and a few stalls, one set up along each dock so ships could sail in, collect what they needed quickly, and sail back out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki slowly shuffled in a small circle as his heart slowly sank. This… this whole industrial thing… it never suited Aiki, and he knew then that it never would. Some people liked the city, and that was fine, but this… this used to be a beautiful beach. There would have been so much water life and little birds and other animals that lived on the coast…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of that, he saw, was gone. Or would be in the next few months.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki sighed, and then began to slowly stumble down the beach, clutching whatever spire of rock or stable piece of air he could find. He stopped halfway down the beach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You know, he thought, maybe this is all a bad dream. I’ll wake up and the beach will be stunningly gorgeous and none of this would have happened… maybe I should go back to bed…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aiki?” he turned as Azula slammed into him, enveloping him in a hug. “Aiki! Thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re ok! We were so -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t. Breathe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Right, sorry,” Azula quickly released him, and he staggered back into another hug, this time from Sainu. Sainu was a little more gentle but no less enthusiastic, and it took a few minutes and a few encouragements before she let go. He smiled at her before…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” he staggered away from Azula, her fingers smoking a little from the shock. He rubbed his arm, and glared at her. “What was that for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointed a finger threateningly at him. “Never. Ever. Say that everything’s fine when it’s not, Aiki.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> fine…? Right?” He turned to Sainu. Her face was in a frown of worry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really, Aiki. You almost… died.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki raised an eyebrow. “Um… pretty sure I didn’t, though.” Azula rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… well, what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, like, we flew in and all of a sudden your leg was covered in blood,” Azula added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aiki hesitated. In truth, it… all happened too fast. He remembered the sword slamming into his leg, remembered the other guy’s face of… regret? Shock? It couldn’t have been… but then the sword came back out, and Aiki had slammed his whip next to his opponent’s hand, and then had thrown the cord around one of the earth bent blocks that were leaving the prison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What happened directly before that? He honestly couldn’t tell you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I was fighting this guy, and then he stabbed my leg. It’s pretty self explanatory -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were fighting Sokka?” Azula’s tone, eyes and whole vibe narrowed into anger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea. He had a sword, a frankly awesome one at that, and he appreciated my whip, which is not something a lot of people do, only like, weapon designers or creators appreciate all the work that -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep. That’s Sokka.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he now had a name… and Aiki wasn’t sure whether that helped </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Up until now, it was always Team Avatar, or the non-bender if you wanted specifics, that had slammed an airship into all the others…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so it was the non-bender who had killed his pa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now? Aiki slowly lowered himself onto the sand, gazing out onto the water. The guy had a name and he loved inventions and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to visualise his face again, as the sword slipped through Aiki’s defences and pierced his thy. It was mixed with confusion, and then a realisation of what had happened mere moments later. And as far as Aiki could remember, there was no triumph on his face. Sure, a little planning of his next move now that Aiki was incapacitated, but that was to be expected. No, his face was </span>
  <em>
    <span>lined</span>
  </em>
  <span> with shock and a bit of horror and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Guilt. And when his leg had begun to shudder and fall, he - Sokka - had pulled the sword away so the wound wouldn’t get worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment was gone when Aiki’s whip had slammed next to his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And now, as Aiki watched the waves crash onto the shore, onto the newly made docks as the Dai Li swarmed around the port, he wondered whether Sokka had known Aiki’s</span>
  <em>
    <span> father</span>
  </em>
  <span> was on that airship, whether he had killed them all and not felt grief or guilt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Probably… probably not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>insane</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Azula grinned as the last dock rose from the sands. The winds blew her hair in her face and she shoved it back behind her, glaring at the skies. They were really going to ruin her moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sainu peered over the cliff edge, a little more cautiously than Azula. “I can’t even recognise the beach anymore,” she smiled, looking over at Azula as she retreated from the edge. “It’s incredible - I feel like we’re actually… you know, official now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We weren’t official before?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know,” Sainu waved a hand around. “We were just a random group going around asking for a revolution, but now… we’ve got a port, we’ve got an army of Dai Li…” she huffed out a laugh. “We’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>easily</span>
  </em>
  <span> be able to save the Fire Nation now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula’s smile faltered. Their revolution, their war for change they were forcing… Azula didn’t know what her father would call it. Saving their nation? Standing </span>
  <em>
    <span>in front</span>
  </em>
  <span> of their nation, that would surely be the reason, but alone? Behind closed doors?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was it still just a power grab for her father? Still?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she stared at Sainu’s hopeful form, a joyous smile tinkling through the winds around them, light shining gold on her hair as the breeze tossed it playfully from side to side…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t a power grab to her. Not anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula carefully stole a glance around them, and when she saw no one, reached over and tucked a small, rebellious strand of hair back behind Sainu’s ear. The other girl smiled, a bit shy, as she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula’s fingers moved down from her face to her collar as she brushed more hair away from her neck, from her shoulders, from her waist…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saw Sainu looking around the clifftops, but there was no one there, like Azula had seen, and so Sainu let Azula pull her in closer and closer…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until Azula finally moved her legs around Sainu’s, her fingers intertwined in Sainu’s flowing hair, and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her lips were </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> soft…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Azula didn’t want to return to the beach. But alas, when they finally heard the calls of her father and Aiki over the waves and the gales (and the kisses), Azula and Sainu had climbed down the cliffs onto the sands once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai was in an intense discussion with one of the agents when they arrived; Azula recognised him to be the Dai Li who had quite literally saved their asses down in the prison when he had summoned a massive spire of earth </span>
  <em>
    <span>through</span>
  </em>
  <span> the metal. Azula smiled at him as she - Sainu had gone to talk to Aiki - neared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai nodded to his daughter in greeting. “Azula. This is Jian. He has an… interesting proposition -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It could change the entire war, Firelord.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai nodded, a bit reluctantly. Azula got the feeling he didn’t like the idea, but… “What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to go to the Beifong Metalbending School in Yu Dao and, well… learn metalbending.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula blinked. “Back up. Come again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… There are teachers at the school aside from Toph Beifong, who is apparently in the Capitol at the moment. And she would be the only one who </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> recognise me! If I go and learn metalbending, and then come back and teach the rest of my battalion -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It could change everything,” Azula realised. She turned to her father. “Zuko has a </span>
  <em>
    <span>massive</span>
  </em>
  <span> advantage right now, with the original metalbender at his side, not to mention the Avatar and their team. If we had even just one metalbender… it would be so good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai sighed. “I know, and I appreciate what you two are saying, but… it’s a big risk. And we need as many agents here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pardon, Firelord, but… I’m new here. Like,” Jian added as both Azula and Ozai adopted looks of utter confusion. “I only joined the Dai Li last year. And as well as my squad works well together and we can predict enemy fighting patterns more easily and such like, they wouldn’t have any trouble doing it without me. They did, for a while anyway, after one of their members died, but anyway,” he hurried on as he realised he was rambling. “I think that you could spare me for this, and once I come back, I could only </span>
  <em>
    <span>add</span>
  </em>
  <span> to your assets.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ozai considered this. “And if you were captured? Then we would have lost both a Dai Li agent and the secret to metalbending, not to mention that the school would immediately tighten their security, and make it as hard as possible for a different Dai Li to infiltrate the school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jian hesitated, then slowly shrugged. “I guess I’ll just have to not get caught.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Azula snorted out a laugh, and Ozai rolled his eyes. Jian looked between the two, not knowing how this interaction was going. Finally, the Firelord waved a hand. “The moment you learn metalbending, you come back here. Even if you’ve just learnt the basics, you’ll have plenty of time and resources to figure out the rest on your own. But get back to us as soon as you can. We’ll probably be on Ma’inka Island by that time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jian blinked in surprise, and then grinned. “Yes! I mean - thank you, Firelord,” he bowed, a distinctively Earth Kingdom bow, but Ozai returned his nation’s gesture anyway. “You won’t regret this! And thank you, Princess,” he bowed to her as well. Azula bowed quickly back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just call me Azula,” she smiled. Jian nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Azula.” And then he was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A couple of the town leaders came to talk with Ozai, and so Azula wandered back through the camp, hearing Jian’s voice echo her name in her ears. It began to overlap with Hikaru’s, Hama’s, Aiki’s, Sainu’s…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She liked, no… </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> the name over the title of ‘Princess’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t a power grab to her anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sah led them up the cliff path. Hama, Sainu and Azula hugged the cliff face while the Dai Li walked and chatted comfortably, confident of their ability to save themselves from a fall, even in the dark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the lights of Nakida city began to shine in their eyes, they followed the town leader across fields and behind what little trees provided them cover until at last, she pointed to a small block that jarred over yet another cliff, this one dropping away from the city’s south wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There,” Sah whispered. “That’s the sewer entrance. And from there… Nakida City is yours.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Tales From a Sunlit City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>trigger warning: PTSD trauma, and also a bit of blood</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Foo Foo began to slow down his pace on the steepening road, edging closer and closer to the green grass on the left. Sokka sighed, but there was not much he could do. A 600 kilogram sabre-tooth moose lion would not listen to a guy ten times smaller. So as Foo Foo began to graze the hill around him, Sokka slid off his back and trudged to the top of the hill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The valley spread out before him, and at the heart stood Niapao. He smiled as the sun must have risen a tad higher in the sky, golden light spreading across the rooftops…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A drop of water pricked his neck. He shrugged it off, like all the other raindrops that morning. The clouds were full, but none of them were committed, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated</span>
  </em>
  <span> this kind of weather. Sokka turned to call for Foo Foo, the sabre-tooth’s coat glistening despite the clouds that blanketed the sky…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the city glowed with light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka whirled towards the city as the fire spread across the streets, through the </span>
  <em>
    <span>homes</span>
  </em>
  <span> of people… people he knew, people he trusted, his friends, his family -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was all being torn apart before him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka whistled to Foo Foo Cuddlypoops, and as the sabre-tooth moose lion bounded up to him, satisfied with his feed, Sokka leapt up onto him, not caring to fasten his saddle as he quickly shoved his leg over Foo Foo’s back. “Go, Foo Foo. Now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They raced towards Niapao, the grey smoke rising up and up into the grey clouds as ash, not rain, began to fall heavier and heavier. Sokka shielded his eyes from the blaring fires as they entered the forest that cloaked the valley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Foo Foo had to slow down as he navigated the rough and beaten track, and Sokka berated himself. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> they had needed to maintain the road, and so had the city governors, but no, Sokka had </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to favour another repair job instead…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now they may be too late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Sokka and Foo Foo emerged from the forest, Foo Foo slowed down even further as Sokka swung down and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The city was empty. Not a streak of flame, not a billow of smoke… not a person in sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka drew his sword as he walked down the barren main street. Wooden barrels lay haphazardly broken on the dust covered road, though not a footprint had been made. A few roofs and doors lay on the ground instead of standing resolute on their houses. No sacks of food were thrown on the ground, not water dripped down from the well…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niapao had been abandoned years ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka turned a corner and there they were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaida lay before him first, her face cracked with blood and sweat and tears, her body broken by the earth she had fought against her entire life… until Sokka had told her not to. Until he had tried to show them all another way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nuku was near Kaida, blood still wet as it oozed from burns and bruises he had taken trying to heal Tong, who Sokka found only a few metres away, dead from his own wounds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But… this wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they were nowhere near Kaida when…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But here they all were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as Sokka staggered through the alley, the bodies piled up. So many faces he knew and loved had been crushed and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard a cough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka turned and caught the eye of a face covered by dust and ash and blood…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too much blood. Too much blood for a face that used to be filled with light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ru.” The old man’s face cracked a little as he smiled that sad little smile, and Sokka collapsed next to him, gathering the broken pieces up in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ru grasped his arm. “You… did what you could.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It… it wasn’t enough.” Ru shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was enough… for me,” he sputtered out, before his eyes closed shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ru’s cold face began to swim a little as a waterfall began to rise up from inside him, one he couldn’t contain anymore. It roared inside him, shaking him hard as he grasped the body tighter. “Come back…” he whispered, every break jolted out, but slowly he realised it wasn’t just he who was shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The whole of Niapao was. Sokka blinked in surprise as the man in his arms crumbled apart and blew away as the cobblestones cracked and quaked. Sokka hurriedly stood, running to the end of the alley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The street ahead </span>
  <em>
    <span>rose</span>
  </em>
  <span> above him: a wave of rock and sand and blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka stood frozen as it peake, pebbles beginning to fall down as the road curved and crashed -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka jolted upright, everything around him coated in sweat. He wasn’t in Niapao, he wasn’t on that street, he was… in a room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room around him began to focus into one of elaborate wooden carvings, an intricately woven screen and soft bed sheets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A drum seemed to pound in his ears. Sokka swallowed a bitter taste down, rubbed his damp eyes clean, and as his heart beat calmed, a new morning presented little rays of sunlight to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But when you set the timer, you’ll have to throw it into the middle of the kitchen, and then cover your head quick, ok?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kiyi nodded, extending her palm. Raiden took it, shaking, then bumping fists, clapping across he palm and then the back before they spat into their own hand and shook once more. With the deal sealed, Kiyi hurried down the hallway. She would be going to the other kitchen door, so that they could attack from two angles instead of one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And neither would back out now. They had shook on it. And a deal sealed by </span>
  <em>
    <span>the</span>
  </em>
  <span> handshake was not a deal to be taken lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raiden waited until he could no longer see Kiyi, and then began to count. His target number was sixty, but as he counted, he pondered on whether Kiyi was counting at the same speed, but everytime he thought about that, his numbers would slow. He skipped a few to try and catch up, but when he reached a questionable forty-five, he shoved his mask over his mouth and nose and moved forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was important, Kiyi had said, to cover </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> your nose and mouth when you worked on a heist mission. Neither of them had proper masks, unfortunately, so they had adopted scarves and wrapped them around them tightly so they wouldn’t fall. And as Raiden ran lightly across the hallway to the kitchen door, he smiled as his mask worked just as he thought it should.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quietly, he creaked open the door. The kitchen was a bustling mess: cooks and chefs and servants hurrying between the cupboards and tables and fires, desperately meandering through to reach the delicacy they were preparing. And, towards the middle of the kitchen, just as Kiyi had said, there they were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A gorgeous tray of little baked cakes. Raiden smiled, and then slipped inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, he was small, and the brown shades he was wearing seemed to match the odd tiles the kitchen sported. As he crept through the aisles of food and equipment, the adults in the room didn’t notice him or ignored him, assuming he was there to help the staff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bold assumption.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raiden reached the end of an aisle of cupboards, and just up ahead sat the cakes. He scanned the opposite side of the room, pulling out a slightly warm ball from his pocket, but the more he looked, he could just not see Kiyi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she’s hidden well, he thought. The smoke and the strange lighting didn’t help matters, but he couldn’t see…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little device he held in his hand was heating up fast now. I have to do it now, he thought. No matter if Kiyi’s there to help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he pulled a little pin out of the ball. Quickly, he lined up his shot and rolled the ball through the hurrying feet until it bumped a table leg, and sat quietly for a few seconds. Raiden turned away, covering his ears, and -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>bang</span>
  </em>
  <span> shook the room slightly, light drenching the kitchen. As Raiden lowered his hands, he could hear a slight steaming sound: the smoke was coming out. And that was his cue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raiden ran out, slipping under and between the startled staff. Though they couldn’t see or hear much for the moment, they would be able to soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reached the table at the same time as Kiyi, her form bursting out through the smoke. Quickly, he bent down as the girl climbed onto his shoulders, and from there, she pulled down the cake tray. The food wobbled precariously as she stepped down again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> heavy!” Kiyi said, excited. Raiden took an end and they bolted down an aisle as the smoke began to clear. Raiden could see a few of the staff looking confused, and then -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My cakes! Who’s stolen my cakes?” The cake chef whirled around until he saw them. “Raiden and Kiyi! If I catch you -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them giggled as they slipped out the kitchen, the rest of his threats drowned out by the door. They shared a solid high five as the two of them hurried up the many stairs that would lead them to the safety of Kiyi’s quarters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the sun rose higher into the sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I could help,” Toph said. Zuko raised an eyebrow and she continued regardless. “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite</span>
  </em>
  <span> the law enforcer. They don’t call me the ‘Lord of Police’ for nothing, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toph, the only one who calls you that is you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one respects me in this city.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko sighed, pushing a few stray hairs from his face as he peered at the city map once more, for what good it did him. The problem wasn’t the location of the supplies, it was the desperation of his people. The citizens of his city </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> more supplies, but it seemed his father had gotten to more villages and towns than he had hoped. Now even Nakida, their most steady importer, was slowing down, boarding up their walls, waiting for the threat to go away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko knew it wouldn’t. It was only a matter of time before Azula cracked the city open like a nut, and the aptly named revolution would gain access to an army of supplies and supporters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which was bloody terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph seemed to feel his frustration. Her chair fell back down with a thud before she made her way over to the head of the table. She thought for a few minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we get supplies from the Earth Kingdom?” Zuko shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’d make it impossible, for one thing. They wouldn’t want to support the nation that almost crippled it, no matter if we are technically allies now. And… I mean, they probably know some of our situation anyway,” he admitted. “But officially, they don’t and I’d like to keep it that way. If everyone knows how bad of a position we’re in, many of the Earth Kingdom provinces and even some of the colonies may try and take advantage of it, no matter the threat they’d be facing if my father won.” Zuko sighed, walking over to a side table, where a pot of tea was keeping warm. He filled his cup again. “I hate politics.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph nodded. “Ok. So let’s focus on this problem alone. No outside help, and not enough resources in the city. How do we get enough?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We usually import most of our items from the rest of the Fire Nation,” Zuko said. He chose a chair and sat down. “In return, we provide them with protection, the justice system, the management of the whole place, and so forth. But now that the whole north-east is against us, they don’t need what we can offer. But we need what they give us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about the southern part of the Fire Nation?” Toph asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, there’s a lot of resources down there, but not very populated. There are a few villages and towns, but mostly it's just wilderness. And there’s not much of a west of us: it’s just the other side of the volcano, and that’s all rock and mountain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph thought for a minute. “If we can’t bring the wilderness to us, why don’t we go to the wilderness?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko frowned. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we go south? If the resources are there, then let’s just send a team down to create a sort of camp and then we can evacuate citizens there. The working citizens can provide resources for the camp and send some up for us. The more refugees come to the Capitol, the more go and provide for us, while we protect them from Azula and Ozai. If worse comes to worse, they can live off the wilderness and just </span>
  <em>
    <span>hide</span>
  </em>
  <span> from the revolution.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko slowly turned back to the map. “Toph…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a fucking genius.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph smiled. “I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as Zuko called a council to the room, the sun rose higher, its rays growing brighter and brighter as they filtered into the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And that is my final harmony,” Iroh said, placing his tile down with a snap. The Pai Sho table looked so very precise that little Roku didn’t even question it; he just groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” he asked. He seemed to like doing that, Iroh thought. Putting as many thoughts as he could into one word. Iroh pointed to his tiles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You see here,” he said, “I have eight harmonies, and you have six. You did have seven, but my last move broke your harmony and completed mine simultaneously.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roku frowned as he considered this, his forehead creasing into however many creases a four-year-old could have, then he brightened. “Can we play again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh laughed. “We can play as many times as you want, provided your mother doesn't see.” Roku smiled and they reset the board.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Iroh said as they began to move tiles through the gates. “You are one of my most formidable opponents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Roku said, breaking a harmony Iroh had just made. Damn, Iroh thought, moving a Jasmine tile into play.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. Why, your parents don’t play, unfortunately, and while I have tried to teach Zuko in the past, he never appreciated the game, and Kiyi follows in his footsteps.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roku considered this, frowning as Iroh broke one of his harmonies. “What about the Avatar? If he’s older than you, would he be better?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh laughed. “Aang hasn’t dedicated his life to the game, unfortunately. If he had, he would be fantastic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would I be able to have beaten him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. Do you think you could have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then that will always be your answer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Ok.” Roku moved a piece, then looked up. “I win.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh blinked, rereading the board. Roku had… eight harmonies. Iroh smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Congratulations, dear nephew.” Roku looked quite pleased with himself, until Ursa walked in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roku! Time for your lessons!” Roku groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can these be my lessons?” he asked his uncle sadly. Iroh shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet. Pai Sho holds many lessons, ones you can’t quite learn until you have lived a long life.” Roku sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess I’ll have to live long, then.” And then he was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iroh studied the board, genuinely perplexed at Roku’s victory. Not that he doubted the boy, but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damn, he was good. He would already be able to best some of the White Lotus. A few more years, and Iroh doubted any of them could hold a feather to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’ve got to stop gambling on these games, Iroh realised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun peaked and slowly began to roll back down to the sea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka heard a series of knocks at his door before he groaned and pushed himself out of bed. Truth be told, he should have been up ages ago, but…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened the door, and there stood Raiden and Kiyi, holding something large behind their backs as they unsuccessfully tried to hide it from him. Sokka raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what could be behind your backs?” Kiyi and Raiden burst into giggles, and then grew quite serious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t go to Kiyi’s room. Or mine,” Raiden said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our tutors are searching for us, and we need somewhere safe,” Kiyi continued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Sokka peered out into the corridor, and when he saw no one, quickly glanced down at their prize: a massive tray of cakes. Yummy cakes, he thought, his mouth beginning to water ever so slightly. He stepped aside, and the kids hurried past into the safety of his room. They spread the tray out on the floor, and gestured for Sokka to join them. He smiled, walking over and taking a cake. “You are always welcome here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And once again, I will draw your attention to the boobs so carefully situated in this square -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s abstract art!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rui, you are not the tour guide here!” Ty Lee retorted. “You don’t even live here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least I’m appreciating the culture this city has,” Rui folded her arms. Hina chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m appreciating the culture as well,” she muttered to Suki, her eyes slowly tracing the fountain. Suki snorted as Mirai decided to move Ty Lee on from the square before she and Rui went to blows. Smart move, Suki thought gratefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Kyoshi walked on for a few more minutes, passing closed shops and darkened windows in the streets. Suki was saddened by the… </span>
  <em>
    <span>lack</span>
  </em>
  <span> of life the city now had. She remembered, only a few weeks back, when she, Sokka and Zuko had flown above the streets as they exploded in a festival of food and light and dance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now there was nothing to dance about, no light one could shine without the eyes of the city guard on their backs, and no food to waste on a party.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the Kyoshi must have felt the difference as well, for they quietened with each darkened shop, but as they reached the end of the alley, the sun shone down on them, the water in the harbour ahead shimmering playfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee turned to the squad. “It’s not Ember Island, but it’s quite nice for a swim. And it’s sheltered, so unless we try to be heard and seen, we won’t be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seika cracked her knuckles, and began unfastening her cloak. “Shall we?” she turned to Asa. Asa was still meant to be recovering from that night, but Suki didn’t think that was on her mind at all. She rolled her shoulders a little as she flung her own cloak off. They passed the shawls to Hina, who wasn’t swimming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Born ready,” Asa grunted, and the two of them ran out onto the street, their swimming suits covering the bare necessities. A few dock workers on lunch break stared a bit as they ran closer to the water, but quickly returned to their meals as the rest of the squad followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Asa and Seika dove into the waves, their heads now little baubles on the blue sea as they swam towards the cove. The rest of the Kyoshi were not that adventurous: Ty Lee opened a small door on the side of the beach wall, and they filed down the stairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cove was stunning. It was underneath the city, she had thought, but now she wasn’t so sure. The cave was </span>
  <em>
    <span>massive</span>
  </em>
  <span>: an arching dome that served as the roof, a perfectly round skylight presented the afternoon sun onto the sparkling waters; on the far side of the cove, the roof folded into the water behind… Seika and Asa as they broke through the surface and began to swim closer; green moss and little shells with crabs lined the walls while the sides of the cave were littered with rock pools; and the beach they had piled onto felt like…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If this is ‘quite nice’, I want to see Ember Island,” Rui said in awe. The rest of the Kyoshi nodded, but Suki found herself disagreeing. Although her experience of Ember Island was very small, she felt it couldn’t even hold a candle to… </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><span>Or maybe Ty Lee just knew all the places to go. That</span> <span>was more likely.</span></p><p>
  <span>Hina and Suki spread their towels on a nice bit of the beach - one lit up by the sun, but not too wet - and while Hina was able to fall into a deep nap in minutes, Suki listened and watched as her mates got ready for their swim. Seika and Asa were still </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> out, but Suki had no doubt they would be joined soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee and Mirai were the first to leave the water after their swim, laughing and chasing each other up the sands and through a massive set of rocks: no doubt Ty Lee knew another gorgeous place in the cove. And while her friends swam in the waters and climbed around the rock pools, peering into what lay inside, Suki soon felt the peacefulness of an afternoon nap take hold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the sun lowered itself even further, adding a touch of pink and orange to the sky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Appa launched up from the palace grounds, the winds swirling gently around him, guiding him as he flew. Aang gently tugged on his reins a little before leaping back up to where Katara sat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He reached over to a small bag of apples, tossing one to Katara and grabbing one for himself. For a time, they didn’t say much: just watched as the Capitol grew smaller and smaller, clouds and mists gently settling in the streets while the sky displayed its myriad of colours. Finally, Katara turned to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aang, where are we going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang’s smile grew wider, and in Katara’s eyes more mischievous. “You’ll see.” Katara groaned, collapsing onto him. Aang chuckled as he stared down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would ruin it.” Katara groaned again. Aang went to take another bite of his apple, but as he raised his hand to his mouth, the fruit was… gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara took a bite out of it. Aang blinked. “Where… where did you get that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s mine now.” She took another bite, enjoying the sweet juices. They didn’t all get in her mouth, but that was ok. Aang still looked thoroughly perplexed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did your apple go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Finished it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... We’ve been flying for three minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara nodded, taking another bite of his apple. Aang sighed, smiling down at her, the fading light still seeming to twinkle and play and shine just for her. As it should.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang bent down slightly, and as Katara took a bite of the apple, he snatched a bite off the other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gnn!” Katara protested around the fruit piece. With a bit of difficulty, she swallowed it fast. “That’s my apple!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang laughed, “Let’s call it a shared apple.” Katara considered this, and then passed the apple up to his mouth. He took another bite, sucking in the juices. “And if it’s a shared apple, does that mean by extension, the juice of it is shared as well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara frowned by this new direction of talk, but she nodded as she ate. The juice began to run from her lips and down her cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then,” Aang said softly, before racing in and pecking her on the cheek, just where the apple’s juice dripped. Katara laughed in surprise as he kissed her, again and again, all over her cheeks, and then the juice didn’t factor into where he kissed her. He layered her stunning face with little kisses as she laughed until finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span>, only her lips remained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang traced their smooth shape with his eyes before smiling a sort of cocky grin. He looked up at Katara to see if she objected, but when he could only find laughter and fun in her eyes, he kissed her, and didn’t let go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Appa lurched underneath them, and they broke apart, Aang scrambling up to the front of the bison’s saddle. He turned around, another one of those cheeky smiles on his face. “We’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Appa landed in a small clearing littered with hay bales. Katara raised an eyebrow. “I’m assuming those are for Appa.” Appa moaned his agreement, and Aang laughed, whipping out a scarf of fabric.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our treat,” he said, folding it quickly and then raising it around Katara’s eyes, “is just up there.” He tied it neatly and then stole another kiss. Katara laughed as Aang began to lead her up the trail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Usually when it came to blindfolds, Katara could vaguely see the outline of what they wanted to surprise her with, but this time Katara had no bloody clue what was going on. She suspected that she had almost fallen multiple times, but had been saved by Aang’s quick shoots of air. Finally, Aang stopped her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, keep your eyes closed,” he said. She did so and felt the blindfold come right off. She heard Aang retreat a few steps back, before he said, “Ok. Open them!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What she first noticed was the sun. It gazed upon their little ledge with such wonder and glory, sending little streaks of purple and pink and yellow streaming across the sky. Fluffy clouds held colourful highlights in their puffs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What lay before her was the edge of a cliff that soared down into crashing waves. Katara turned around to see a small fissure in the cliff that flew above her: no doubt what Aang had had to lead her through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then she saw the blanket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an enormous, colourful quilt, pillows scattered around, with bowls of food lying more carefully. The sun’s golden rays lit up the picnic beautifully, and as a small breeze floated through, Katara heard a little song. She turned back to the wall of the cliff, where Aang had hung a little set of chimes. Aang spread his arms out, smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think?” he asked, now sounding a bit unsure, but Katara didn’t know why. She ran up to him and leapt into his outstretched arms, smacking a big kiss on his lips. He stumbled back a little in surprise, but smiled against her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does… that mean you like it?” Aang asked when they broke apart. Katara kissed his forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are the most incredible boyfriend </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Aang laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy anniversary, Katara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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